Exploring
by TitaniumBlossom
Summary: The sequel to Discoveries, Exploring is about the multiplayer side of Minecraft. Miner and Archer are the King and Queen of the newly created kingdom. The prologue starts off just after the story, but this story is about their plete
1. Chapter 1

Exploring

A sequel to Discoveries

TitaniumBlossom

Prologue

The ship was beleaguered when it came to shore. Its hull was pockmarked with dents, the sails were torn in some places.

The people crashed the ship clumsily into the beach, and staggered out, dizzy and seasick. The reason for the shoddy state of them and their ship soon followed. Rain, for the first time in her memory.

There were at least 60 of them, some in families, others alone. They said they had just left from another place, another land. Some of them had wooden cudgels that they liked to call swords, but all had no armor.

Archer and Miner took them in, let them occupy the mountain while they got things set up. Soon, they had build cottages and homes outside the mountain, although they stayed close and fenced themselves away from the monsters of the night.

And it turned out Miner would have a child, judging from the swell in her stomach. Thankfully, the second arrivals had a doctor among them, an old man, who was ponderous in his actions and mannerisms.

He said everything was in line, and really, there would be no trouble. He came often for checkups, and he charged nothing. He claimed it was nothing but a service to them, because they had saved them and provided for them.

And he wasn't the only one. Every family, every person, all gave things to Miner and Archer, things like gold, or maybe a smoked fish. And some of them stayed in the mountain, acting kind of like servants. Archer would teach them how to shoot the bow, and when she could, Miner would teach the new arrivals all about the caves and what they could do.

But the newcomers had things they soon developed. A man was particularly good at taming wolves, and he quickly moved into the mountain because of the amount of people he had to teach. The best crafter, and blacksmith, and farmer, they all were inducted into the castle so that the arrivals could learn better from them. A woman found how to power Minecart rails, and she too was accepted into the Skilled.

Then a second boat came. This one was burnt up, and its passengers were almost all wounded and dirty.

They almost immediately established themselves as the menial workers.

They built small cottages near the ocean, and started collecting resources for the crafters.

They had come from a land, they said, terrorized by packs of what they described as griefers, men who they claimed said had magic powers, and who would reign terror upon those trying to settle.

They set things on fire, tore houses apart brick by trick, flooded caverns, stole supplies, and killed innocent people.

The First arrivals noticed that they were almost downright antisocial, and when they did come into contact, their eyes were glazed over, their faces deadened and slack-jawed.

They were voluntarily submissive, bringing gifts of what they found, in return for almost nothing. Miner would have said something, but there was really no place for words.

It wasn't that long until another group came, the largest group Miner had ever seen. The new arrivals were normal, and spread out wider, some establishing homes away from the mountain, some establishing homes near the first generation. Soon, there was a city, which they named Landton, because it was the first town on land.

The most surprising thing, though, was the sudden decision by the arrivals to name Miner and Archer king and queen of the land, in recognition of the help they had given to all.

The second most surprising thing was the doctor's smiling face when he announced to the newly crowned King and Queen that they should no longer expect a child. Instead, they should expect two. Twins.

The kingdom rejoiced at the news, and there were celebrations all around. The traumatized soon forgot their fears, and joined in too.

But everyone forgot the cause of that fear, and they had no idea that the griefers were just over the horizon, waiting for their chance.


	2. Chapter 2

Exploring

TitaniumBlossom

Chapter 2

(_**A/N: Thanks for the quick response, everybody. And Herolief, don't worry, the prologue was just setting things up, because this story goes with their children as they leave the nest. Also, shadowfang3000, I applaud your enthusiasm. Feedback is always helpful. Also, this story represents the multiplayer side of Minecraft, where skins and things like Spleef become popular, so if it doesn't quite fit with what you had in mind from the last story, I apologize, but that's why multiplayer and singleplayer both exist with Minecraft. Also, **__**.com/watch?v=hSRi7kpdqIg**__** reminds me much about what I think Discoveries's Protagonists felt before they met.)**_

16 years after the celebrations, the kingdom had grown, with new shipments of people arriving often, and plenty of children being born.

There was a rail system now, powered by redstone and managed by the Skilled. It went underground, around the mountain, and even out to the distant quarries that supplied them with the stone and metal for the expanding city.

The houses stretched out for as far as the eye could see. Everyone gave to their King and Queen, and looked to them as the leaders of the land.

And, on days like this, this 16th birthday of the Royal Twins, their fervor was unmatched. Crowds gathered outside of the Royal Mountain, wearing the official colors of the crest, Green and Brown.

They went wild when Miner and Archer, now just referred to as King and Queen stepped out.

They both smiled and waved with as much pomp as they could get.

The Queen whispered out of the side of her mouth, trying very hard not to have her words picked up by the Skilled behind her.

"You would think they would pick something more vibrant for the royal colors..."

The King smirked when he heard it and whispered back, just as slyly.

"The head Dyer picked it, not me. And if he can dye any color in the rainbow, I'm pretty sure he had a good reason for picking green and brown."

And the King did have a point. With all the Skilled they had nowadays, it was hard to distrust what they did for the Royal family and the kingdom. Too occupied with covering a wide range of topics, the Queen always assumed that it would be a logical consequence that some advisors would have to be adopted to make up for their lack of depth.

The King himself staunchly supported the Skilled, and even had encouraged them, as soon as the first arrivals came. He always had expressed to the Queen that he liked his leisure time, when he could just lay back and watch a view, with nothing on his mind. Nowadays, he got even more of that, but he still hunted at times, just to stay in the groove.

Miner found herself occupied with the children for the first few years, but inexplicably, she had given much of their monitoring to the servants who had been eager to help them.

The children, after 16 years, really couldn't be called children. Her son, who took more after her than his father, stayed in the mountain and the caves beneath for most of the time that he was awake. Even at a young age, he was more likely to totter along dark hallways with his mother than go out into the forests and fields with his father, although he still liked to do that.

Because of this, they named him Cave, because of his quiet and cool demeanor just as much as his affinity for the darkness.

Their daughter was the complete opposite, exuberant and loud. More than anything else, she liked to see the sights and hear the sounds of the land. The sun, the moon, and the stars were treasured by her, and she grew long and lanky like her father, tanned as well. Her hair was golden brown like the plants that grew in the farmer's fields, so their parents named her Wheat, the tall plant that flourished in the sunlight.

Right now, they were being prepared by the head Dyer and his corps of highly focused tailors.

She could only imagine what they were going through.

"Ow.", Cave mumbled as Lord Lazuli, the Head Dyer, cinched the band that held his codpiece tighter. "Is it really necessary to have it that tight?"

Lord Lazuli maintained a stern expression, looking down his long nose through half glasses.

"Yes, it is. In fact, it's almost expected of royal men on important occasions?"

"By affixing this gaudy mockery of a loincloth on top of my pants?", Cave questioned, looking down at the cloth pad that thankfully blended in with his brown pants.

"Its much better than the clothes your parents used to wear before I came here.", Lazuli scoffed,

"It's like they'd never seen royalty, much less been royalty."

"You were the same way when you started remembering again. Everyone was.", Cave stated, looking serious, or at least as serious as someone wearing crotch padding can without a weapon.

"Well, I landed in a place that already had a king. And what a king he was! You know, before I even had spun my first garment, I was in his employ. What grand times they were..." Lazuli's eyes glazed over, the look that all too often was given off by the refugees who arrived every now and then.

"Are you okay?", Cave questioned, seeing the look in Lazuli's eyes.

Lazuli spoke softly, his voice wheezing and squeaking, a single tear running down his face.

"They burnt him alive.", He babbled. "The lava trap was just behind his chamber door."

Lazuli brought a hand to his face, jerkily.

"The reams of cloth I had rolled up, line by line, in the storehouse...They were like babies to me, swaddled and tucked away in their cribs. I remember each spark as it emerged from his flint and stone. The tongues of flame becoming red orange as they ate away at my art...It was like watching a zombie as it ripped out your heart and ate it before you."

Cave was at a troublesome spot.

It wasn't the first time he had seen somebody remember what had occurred, to be sure, and Lord Lazuli was extremely well known for his flashbacks.

"It was just one or two people!", Lazuli raved, as Cave backed up. "Just them and their instruments of Hell. But they're everywhere. Even one of them, just one, just one, just one...just...one."

Lazuli's stream slowed, and he staggered to a wall and slid down.

Since he remained silent, Cave walked out, notifying a maid that Lord Lazuli had an event.

As of right now, his guessed his tailoring appointment was over.

"Ow.", Wheat exhaled. "That pin stuck me. And there's the other one. Please be careful wi- OW!", Wheat jerked back and yowled.

The Vice Dyer, a crotchety old women who was not adverse to giving woolen sweaters to anyone who even said a word about clothes apologized.

"I'm sorry, dear.", the Vide Dyer said. "I'm just in a bit of a hurry, with your dress needing the alterations done in three hours and all. You would think your body would have the common sense to stop shooting up like bamboo after all these tailoring appointments."

"Sorry about that." Wheat agreed. "I really do wish my growth spurt was a spurt instead of a flood. At least my tailoring is more exciting than Lord Lazuli's. Cave's tailoring only needs to be done every six months. I think you have the upper hand when it comes to favors. Maybe Lord Lazuli will quit out of boredom. I'd sure advocate for you as head dyer."

"The sentiment is nice, dear.", The Vice-Dyer dismissed. And then she gathered up her things.

"All done with the measurements, just a few minutes until I get the alterations done on the dress."

She nodded and sat down on her bed, treasuring what little time she had before she had to get in front of the crowds ecstatic over her and her brother's twin birthday.

Indeed, if they got a chance to party twice as hard, they would. So many had left recently, it was almost necessary for them to have a chance to get a load off.

Sometimes, especially among the refugees, people would just feel a need to go, and leave during the night while everyone was asleep. Almost always, they were accompanied by others, on a ship, that would be seen far away, almost over the horizon.

It had no lead up to it, and often, families were missing fathers, mothers, children, or even complete disappearances of an entire group.

Which reminded her, that night, she, along with all the summer birthdays, would have to prove their use to the kingdom. If not, they would have to try again the next change of season.

She would prove her worth in Archery, just like her father.

Cave, as much as he took after his mother, was actually going to prove his worth in something other than mining. He just hadn't told anyone yet.

Sometimes, she really worried for Cave. To call him a late bloomer would be an understatement. He was diminutive, shorter than his sister, and almost silent with everybody, including his family.

If he didn't prove his worth tonight, he might fail the delay trial, and be kicked out of the kingdom until he brought something to prove his worth.

_Yeah... That would be just perfect for all the lords and ladies. A Royal Prince, failing his test of manhood? That would go over very well. Very well indeed., _Wheat thought, as the Vice-Dyer returned with the green dress, which, with the alterations, tightened around her waist, with brown ruffles at the elbows and shoulders.

"Here, put this on, dear.", The Vice-Dyer commanded gently. "After that, meet at the entrance to the balcony with your brother. You're long since overdue."

Cave nodded to Wheat as she took her place beside her brother.

A steward nearby gestured at another steward, and they opened the door together.

Then, with the step of each other's feet synchronized, the Royal Twins moved out onto the balcony, hand raised in a restrained, rehearsed position.

The citizens waiting at the base of the mountain cheered and threw their streamers into the air, long colored paper arcs soaring over the people's heads.

Their father, the King quieted them down with a sweeping movement of the hands.

"Today... Is a special day, for us and the kingdom. First of all, it is Twinday. Second of all, it is the 16th twinday. As I'm sure you know, this is when my children will prove their worth. Many other children will, as well. I want all of you to remember them, too. Remember, this kingdom is built upon all of us co-operating. Really, no one is better than another, so I thank you, as I have each year, for making us your King and Queen." The crowd started their celebrations afterwards, and everyone on the balcony went back inside.

"We still have the banquet to go to, Cave, so don't even think about slinking off to your room.", Queen warned.

Resigned, Cave immediately stopped his slinking and returned to formation with his family as they walked to the banquet hall.

Another set of stewards opened the door, and they walked in together.

The Skilled families were seated already. Because they had not proven their worth as adults, the Royal Twins had to sit at the children's table, at the head and feet of the long, low table.

On the seats closest to the left and right, some cunning soul had decided to put the two girls closest in age to him, one the daughter of the Head Miner, the other a daughter of the Vice-Minecartier. Likewise on his sister's side, she was in an analogous situation.

As he waited for the food to be served he responded with nods or shakes of the head to the shallow attempts at conversation by the two girls.

"You know, my friend bet me that I wouldn't be able to make you say more than two words. I think otherwise.", the Miner-Daughter finally exclaimed.

Cave cleared his throat and made as if to speak. The two girls leaned in intently.

"You lose.", he stated.

What a fun meal this would be.

"You know, I'm going to prove my worth through Combat. I'm going to join the army. My dad said he could totally hook me up as a General after I've got a few battles under my belt."

Wheat tried to nod like she cared.

"I heard you're pretty good with a bow. How about we team up tonight? I mean, it'll be easier if we work together when it comes to the skeletons part. I could use a good archer. I know I have enough swordsmen."

When Wheat caught Maurice looking at her as if he expected an answer, she was startled and tried to think of something to say.

"Umm...Yes?", she responded, unsure of what she was agreeing to. 

"Great! You can command the archers I have. They're all terrible though, so I guess I'll be leaning on you to complete the job."

_Oh Damn_, Wheat thought. _I'm teaming up with meathead over here._

Not that it was a bad thing being a meathead and all. His rough features reminded her of some form of bear, not to mention the muscles straining against his ill-fitting tunic. In fact, if she wasn't already disposed against the Skilled children, she might have taken him up on the awkward requests for dates that he had proposed to her so many times.

The boy on her left hand side, however, was a complete mystery. She got the impression that he would always have a hood on somehow, and even make it stylish, like most of those skilled in Espionage. His black hair and brown eyes complemented his dark skin for the best combination for the sneaking that he no doubt did when most people were asleep. His eyes were very sharp and harsh, as if he documented everything that he saw with unerring accuracy and he coldly calculated everything about someone.

He was silent, but he looked like he was silent so that he could absorb more information, without being recorded himself.

A definite backstabber, if she had ever seen one. Not that he didn't have a sort of dark charm. But, he was part of a Skilled family, and thus, Wheat felt she shouldn't really get close. Who knows what kind of idea she could be giving the Skilled, not to mention her parents, if she showed intrest in one of them.

Already, accidentally accepting a position of command under Maurice the Meathead was a bit too incriminating. If she got her brother to come along, it would look better, but they were headed to the proving grounds right after the banquet, so there was barely any time to set something up.

By the time the last course came around though, she was extremely bored. With the silence of the Hood, and the incessant nattering about the use of shortbow archers in flanking maneuvers without distance or height superiority.

And by the time they were on the way to the proving grounds, she was surely going through some form of hyper depression caused by boredom and a atrophying brain.

The Instructors, who were essentially taught the children their skills herded them into their special pens, where they could get a head count and formulate the course.

While they were waiting, Wheat got to meet the "soldiers" of Maurice's. Unsurprisingly they were all meatheads. Not that there was anything wrong with that.

"Okay everybody, this is Wheat, the good half of the Royal Twins.", Maurice introduced, smile on his face.

The boys under his command laughed.

"She'll won't be my second in command, I've saved that for Jacob over there. Instead, she'll be in charge of what I want to call the Special Service Squad. The best of the best will be led by her, and she'll operate wherever is needed most. So... Any volunteers?"

One of the archers, a scrawny boy who had a similarly ratty beard complained.

"Well, if we volunteer, how will the squad be the best of the best?"

"Because, my good Lionel, only the best will volunteer for a squad with Princess Wheat.", Maurice responded.

A particularly tall individual who was coated from head to toe with armor lifted his arm as high as he could without shifting the armor too much.

"I'll do it, sir!"

"Good. Anyone else?"

Ratty Lionel raised his arm.

"You're on. Good man."

The Hood from the banquet made his presence known, emerging from the crowd with two similarly dressed people.

"I guess you three deserve to be in Princess Wheat's squad.", Maurice stated.

"All that stabby-stabby stuff you guys can do. I think that's good enough for starters. Two archers, a Tank of a man, and three of the most terrifying things to ever walk around in mauve cloaks or whatever it is you wear when its not time to get to business."

The instructor yelled down, "Okay, I'm going to open the gates. You have 6 hours, no killing the opposing teams, and don't knock down torches underground. First team to bring back the gold bars is proven worthy, the rest have to go back into prelims or prove themselves individually."

Since only one team wins the first challenge, it wasn't a big deal if you didn't prove your worth here. Everybody either did it there, or did it individually after the match.

And as the gate rose up, Wheat brought her finger up and moved it in a circle, pointing up.

"This means regroup to me. Let's go"

She burst out in a run into the closest stand of trees. The best way to start off a match was with an ambush, and she had a very good idea of what it would be.

But she couldn't shake the thought of her brother out of her head.

_Where could he be?_

Cave brought the diamond pickaxe twice against the stone pillar in front of him, breaking it. He scooped up the fragments and stashed them in his bag.

According to his map, he was underneath the sandy "kill zone", where the teams would be bogged down and drawn into combat that would wipe them out. He had already worked, building his own scaffolding, and he had got right up to the sand layer.

Once he got rid of a red stone torch, the entire ring of sand around the cavern entrance would fall into the water below, hopefully stalling, or even halting, their advance. He already had a concealed track that went down to the lava layer, and then ended in his underground hideout.

There wasn't even one Skilled person when it came to traps and concealment, but if there was, Cave liked to think he would be better than them.

He had already packed a storage chest into a cart, and put the gold bars into the chest. He was just making sure the trap was set before he returned to his lair.

_Lair. I like the sound of that._, He thought, getting into his cart.

It went down, and up, and around, and at one point through a lava fall, or what looked like one. In reality, it was a hairpin turn through a glass chamber.

When he finally came to a stop, he moved fast, throwing gold bricks down a hole that went over his underwater canal. The canal would flow so that the bricks would be on the other side of the town by the time that anybody realized foul play.

Why was he doing this? He didn't really know. He didn't have anything to gain by taking the bricks by himself. And this was awful like what a Griefer would do. He could be banished, royal or not. Or even imprisoned, if they felt he was too dangerous.

He got back on the cart to go back to his trap location. He had the track engineered to run both ways, so the ride back was as easy as the ride there.

Cave had blockaded the entrance of the cavern with obsidian, but had done it deeper, so that scouts or other likewise snooping people wouldn't be able to tell.

It was here that he poked his head out, covered in strands of long grass. He had planted grass on the land near the entrance, just so that he could observe better without being spotted.

After a few hours wait, he saw the first advance scouts arrive. They were isolated from their teams, but there were at least 5 teams, converging on his position. He would have to take the scouts out before they got back to the main body of troops.

As he got ready to launch an attack at the first scout, he felt someone tackle him from behind and he found himself tumbling down to the stone floor.

He almost hit his head, but saved himself at the last minute.

He took most of the strike in the padding of his leather armor, but his assailant was unrelenting, pummeling him in the face while he tried to recover.

He brought his arms up with all his force under his attacker's armpits. The person was knocked into the air, remarkably light.

Cave stood up and pulled the attacker's hood back.

_I wasn't expecting that..._He mused. _But I guess she'll have to fit in the plan somehow._

He offered his hand to her.

"My name is Cave. I've won already.", He said.

_This could be the start of a wonderful partnership., _He thought.


	3. Chapter 3

Exploring

Chapter 3

Titanium Blossom

_**(A/N: Keep up the reviews, and if you can't do that, favoriting or at least a story alert. It really helps me get in the mood for writing. This will be longer than Discoveries, but after this, I think I'll be done with Minecraft for a while. Persona is my next target, or maybe Halo.)**_

Wheat stopped in a stand of long grass, and stooped down low.

"Big guy, over here.", She commanded in a whisper.

"I'm Emilio.", he responded, trying not to clank.

"Emilio, get over here in two seconds or..."

She couldn't finish her threat because he arrived next to her.

She started again. "Okay, Emilio. We haven't encountered any enemies yet, and my watch says that we're ten minutes into the challenge. I want you to make some noise. We'll have your backs, but make sure you make as much sound as possible. We have to clear out other expeditionary forces. Lionel, you go with him, make it look like you're trying to be stealthy."

Lionel nodded.

"If we get enough of them down here, we can focus forces into this area, and away from our team's scouts."

Emilio charged, screaming into the fields ahead of him, Lionel followed him.

_So much for being stealthy._

"I'm not talking to you. I'm talking at you, aren't I?", Cave asked.

The hooded girl didn't say a word, short black hair rumpled from the tumble she had taken.

"It would only be fate that the first time I need to talk, my conversational partner happens to be mute."

She looked at him with peculiar purple eyes. Cave knew that it was a mutation, but the whole combination seemed to make her seem otherworldly or magical.

"Anyway, if you're done attempting to pummel me, I have some scouts to take out."

He took his bow out. While he didn't have the same skills as his sister, he knew how to use one fairly well. He enjoyed a fishing rod for long range conflict, because he knew how to use his fists well, and if he brought something down, he could take it out quickly.

The silent girl followed him. Cave could hear the soft padding of her footsteps. He got back into his foxhole and saw that a scout was far too close. He popped out of the hole, climbing to the top, and found a good hiding place behind an outcrop of rock.

The scout was cautious, but Cave was smarter than him. As the scout tried to get closer, Cave cast his rod and yanked hard, pulling the scout's leg back sharply and making him fall.

Cave pounced, and punched the fallen scout repeatedly. Each hit sounded like meat being tenderized, but it was leather gloves against the challenge armor, so it wasn't even painful.

"I'm out. I'm out.", the Scout repeated out loud.

Cave pulled a length of string out of his pack and tied him.

He felt something at the side of his vision, and saw the second scout rushing at him, challenge sword held aloft.

The fishing pole was in his pack, so he backed up quickly, avoiding the first few swings. However, the scout was keen on this and got closer before swinging, edging slowly.

Just when he thought he would have to take some drastic measures regarding the scout, the silent girl sprung from above, onto the scout.

She gave him a smile and a shrug, as if to say  
>"Why not?"<p>

The third enemy squad lay captured at their feet.

"These kills are marked out to the S.S.S, okay? No individual. Just say the S.S.S. It was a team effort"

"Complete bullshit", whispered Emilio. "You got every single one of those kills. Headshots with a shortbow from 100 meters away."

"Shut up.", Wheat murmured out of the side of her mouth. "It makes the entire group look more worthy."

Lionel, who was surprisingly unscathed despite the masses of people that had attempted to mob him, was on lookout.

The hoods were unseen, but after all of their help during the ambushes, Wheat knew that they probably were somewhere very close, being very still, and very silent.

Emilio watched as the groups left, then fished around in his pack.

"I think I had it somewhere in here. Ah! Here it is!", he exclaimed as he held a cake aloft.

He took a slice out of it and ate it in two big bites.

Speaking with his mouth full, he encouraged the others to get some.

"We still have 4 hours to go, and we'll get tired without some sugar in us.", Emilio encouraged.

As they took slices of cake and chewed on them, Emilio explained more about what the squad was supposed to do.

"So in an hour, we meet up with the main force, and we rush at whatever location is supposed to be the location of the gold bars. If we leave now, we'll get there with some time to spare, so as soon as we get done with the cake, we can start heading to the rally point."

"Okay.", Wheat agreed. "I think we thinned out the other teams pretty well."

When they set off, Wheat wasn't taken aback at how the hoods emerged from nowhere. The one that was at the table with her came closer, and spoke.

"I'm getting messages from other scouts in the area. The teams are converging on grid square L5. One of our couriers relayed that we'll be foregoing the rally meet." His hood didn't move as he spoke.

"Change of plans, Emilio.", Wheat announced, turning to the heavily armored teen. " We're heading to L5. Here's the map." She handed the map to Emilio, and they took off at a jog, with Lionel quick behind.

The hood had faded again, but the slight thump of footsteps and rustling grass somewhere behind her reminded her that there were people behind her.

They continued across even ground, snaking around the steep hills, ending up behind a large group of opposing teens. There were at least 20.

Wheat held her hand up in a fist, telling her group to stop.

"Emilio, Lionel, Distract. Hoods, do whatever you do. Let's go.", Wheat commanded.

Emilio charged, sword held high, while Lionel fired a few arrows with his bow.

The group turned around, but before their archers could start loosing arrows at her two squadmates, Wheat had knocked them down with her own arrows. The remaining teens, all either swordsmen or scouts, took flight, running out of the gully they were in and onto a crop of sandy land that seemed to go in a circle around a hill.

There was a muffled boom, and the sand fell away. The teens plummeted into the darkness, screaming on the way down.

Wheat was taken aback.

"What the hell just happened?", She exclaimed, rushing to the edge.

The hood crouched next to her, looking over.

"Sounded like tnt, 3 meters down. Probably redstone activated. It took out the sand, and sent everyone on the ring to the water below. I'm guessing the mastermind is still in the hill."

"Then we'll take him out. Watch my back.", Wheat commanded.

She took dirt clods from her pack and started extending a platform out, so that they could jump onto the island.

She just hoped the griefer didn't have any tricks up his sleeve.

"Did you hear that?", Cave exclaimed. "It was like boom and they were like "oh no!" and I was like "hahahahahahaha""

The purple eyed girl was too busy checking the waters below for anybody who wanted to say that they weren't out.

People picked themselves out of the water and pulled their white flags out, blinking in the half dark. Most of those who had come to prove their worth were there. 92 out of 100.

Cave had a feeling that his sister wasn't trapped down there, and was probably seeking some way to best whoever had done it. If she had somebody with her, which she most likely did, the social butterfly that she was, then he was going to be faced with both her and the best that she could find.

He knew his sister; he hoped she didn't know him.

It was Cave. Wheat had no doubt about it. As soon as the saw the sand drop out, she knew only Cave would spend the time and the materials to make something like that, especially when it came to things underground. Only he would be smart enough, and only he would be sneaky enough to avoid the regulators.

Once the platform was complete, she ordered Emilio to jump first, then Lionel. She would follow them, and then the Hoods would do whatever they wanted.

Emilio scored his jump, Lionel too, and then Wheat.

The hoods silently jumped from another place and the only visible parts of them were shadows that disappeared as quickly as they were seen.

"I found the entrance!", Lionel whispered. "It's covered by obsidian, though."

"We're going through the roof.", Wheat stated, jumping on top of the embankment and striking at the dirt.

When she had a hole to the stone below, she jumped in without hesitation, bow drawn.

She couldn't believe her eyes. The hoods had their flags out, shuffling away. The head looked over his shoulder, and she could read it in his eyes.

Cave was here, and he was dangerous. Emilio fell through the hole, giving a crash of metal as he connected with the floor.

Almost immediately after that, a hooded figure with a feminine build sprang from a hatch in the floor, alerting Emilio. Lionel jumped through after Emilio, and the look on his face was indicative of the horror as he realized what was going on.

"Go after Cave!", he bravely shouted. "We'll take her on."

Lionel's quaking knees as he said this betrayed his true feelings.

Wheat nodded, knowing that she wouldn't have enough time. Instead of going down the hatch that the hooded girl had emerged from, she went up, and shouted for a Regulator.

The Regulators were the most powerful force on the field. For one night, they would volunteer their services, but they were all people who had specialized in Espionage, and not the sneaking kind. They were probably nice outside of the field, but during the challenges, they were brutish and harsh, enforcing rules with booming yells and strikes of their gigantic clubs.

If one came here soon, his brother's scheme would be over, and he would be punished. Even though Cave was her brother, Wheat believed in justice, blind justice.

She also saw a smoke plume in the distance, but she was more concerned with getting back into Cave's trap.

She dropped down again, to see Lionel pulling a white flag, while Emilio tried to circle away from the girl.

"Go get your brother, Wheat. If you can stop him, you can stop this girl too."

Emilio knocked the girl to her knees when she sprang at him, but she didn't pull a flag, instead springing up at nearly striking Emilio in the chest.

It was tough for him to move around with all the heavy metal plating on him. Wheat knew that there wouldn't be that long before he was struck, and when he would be struck, she knew he would play by the rules and pull his flag.

She skirted around them as they dodged each others strikes and parries, going down the hatch that she had sprung from in the very beginning.

The ladder went down for about 20 meters, coming out onto a mine cart track. Cave was there, wearing a strange cloak that had strands of grass all over its rough surface. He was looking down at the people below, who were trying in the half-light to see the feathery silhouette above them.

"Cave.", Wheat said. "I called the regulators. But before they take you, I just want to know why you did it."

Cave smiled. "I hoped you would understand, but apparently you didn't. I just wanted to prove my worth, that's all. Isn't that the entire purpose of the event?"

Wheat shook her head. Of course, her brother, the quiet one, the strange one, would have some weird opinion on this. Just like with everything else, he gave his twin sister the reputation of being like him.

She couldn't wait to see how everyone would treat her now, after her brother turned out to grief the most important event of the year.

As soon as the regulators showed up, he would be caught, and she would have to end up picking the pieces.

Kids got sent out to the mining camps for less than what Cave did.

Upstairs, Emilio cried out and there was a thump.

"Who is that, Cave?", Wheat asked, hands on her hips, standing taller than Cave and looking down on him.

"The girl above us is as just a mystery to you as she is to me. All I know is that she attacked me at first. Now she helps me. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got some things to finish up here before I leave."

Cave was packing his things into his sack as he said this, seemingly nonchalant.

"The only way you'll be leaving, Cave, is tied up. The regulators won't be taking chances with this."

Cave only smirked.

Wheat heard the soft sound of footsteps, and turned to see the hooded girl. She had blocked up the shaft that led up to the entry floor.

She advanced slowly, in a calm and steady gait.

Wheat got the feeling that she wouldn't be hearing her unless she wanted to be heard.

Cave left without a word, and the girl followed him. There was a rumble and a screech as a minecart left, but behind her, the shaft that was blocked by stone was cleared by a tall burly man and a hard-faced woman who was brandishing a club wrapped with cloth.

"Which way did they go?" The man asked.

Wheat pointed to the minecart track.

"They took a minecart down that way.", She said.

"Princess Wheat, you're in charge of organizing the stragglers and getting them back to the entrance.", the woman commanded, getting into the lightweight cart the man had quickly assembled.

Wheat nodded, heading to the ledge that overlooked the underwater trap.

She threw a torch against the wall, followed by the ladders from the kit she had thoughtfully brought into battle.

"Is that you, Princess?", a voice from the darkness asked. It was Maurice.

"Yeah. Set up this ladder down there. I have to round up my team.", Wheat answered, throwing a section of ladder to Maurice so that he could set it up.

She went up to where Lionel and Emilio had been. The hoods were there, with Lionel and Emilio wincing as they paced.

"Dismissed.", Wheat commanded "The regulators want me to get everyone back to the entrance. Go ahead of us and tell the gatekeepers about what happened. I'll get everyone down there to the gates."

They left, and down below, there was splashing as people swam across the ring that they had first landed.

It was going to be a long night.

The girl was packed in the cart against him. Not a word was exchanged.

Now, it wasn't to say that Cave was unused to awkward situations, himself being the progenitor of many of them, but it chilled him to meet someone who was so like him, but even more so.

Her hood remained on, and although he could feel and hear her breath, Cave really felt as if he was stuck in a cart with a mannequin.

Mannequins always bothered him as a child when he had seen them, with his clothes on them as the Dyers worked on making pairs for him and his twin sister.

Maybe that was why he felt the need to jump out of cart. Ally or not, the girl was intimidating, and every time he looked into her purple eyes, he felt himself tremble a bit at the base of his spine.

She didn't flinch when they went through all of the near death hazards, like the lava fall, or the extreme drops. In fact, the only moment when she actually moved was when an echoing screech emerged from behind them.

It was another minecart, with two grown adults. One of them had a bow, already loaded with a training shaft. The nonlethal arrow wouldn't kill as long as it stayed away from vitals, and with the armor, might not even leave a bruise, but if you got hit with one, it could tip you over, and on a minecart, that would be terrible.

He pulled his bow from his pack and brought his own arrow, this one a heavier, redstone tipped shaft.

The magnetic tip would interfere with the minecart, possibly knocking it off of the rails.

He shot the arrow high, adjusting for gravity. The cart resounded with a dull _thunk_ and jumped for a second.

The two regulators looked at each other in panic, because when a minecart derailed, it was rare that anybody survived.

Instead of stopping the minecart, though, they decided to continue. The man brought his bow back up and launched an arrow.

When it reached its target, the hooded girl, there was an immediate disconnect with reality.

Instead of hitting and then falling off like a nonlethal arrow, the arrow disappeared into her side, with a sound like ripping fabric, but wetter.

She gasped, and fell over.

Without thinking, Cave brought another of his redstone arrows to his bow, and pulled it further back then he ever had before.

The Regulators, too busy switching their arrows to non-lethal to target the Crown Prince, never saw the magnetic shaft crash into their cart.

They tipped out as the cart shook, and then it crushed them, grinding them between the rails and the metal contraption.

Their screams died away as Cave and the now injured girl continued in their cart.

"Oh God.", Cave exclaimed, looking at the hooded girl. The shaft of an arrow was embedded within her side. When he knelt next to her, and examined the wound, the faint glimmer of blood came and went before his eyes.

Her hood fell back, revealing her short black hair and purple eyes. Her skin was a pasty white, and she was breathing rapidly.

"Has it punctured anything?", He asked.

She shook her head.

Cave exhaled in relief.

The minecart finally came to a halt, and Cave brought the blood soaked girl out of the cart, taking her to the lone bed that he had made in his hideout.

"I don't have any food on me right now, but I'm about to go get some after I make sure they won't follow me. Will you be okay until then?", Cave asked, bringing his redstone torches out.

Cave was surprised he was talking this much. Usually, he could go hours without saying a word. The girl must have brought something out in him. Or maybe the arrow did.

Either way, he rushed himself putting the torches down to alternate the path the track would take, so that he could get back to the hooded girl.

When he got back, he quickly opened up his emergency crate, which contained food, weapons, and building materials.

When he came with the loaf to the purple-eyed girl's side, the look in her eyes was priceless, and as the food turned into energy within her, and the arrow was pushed out, Cave felt happier than he ever had in his life.

Wheat frowned as she was escorted by the guards back to the castle.

The combatants were all rounded up, except for her brother. As the last to leave the arena, she was sure of that.

The long, lonely walk to the palace, surrounded by armored men of the highest caliber, was a severely disheartening experience.

Even worse was the look on her parents' face when she showed up without her brother.

Not horror, not sadness, just a look, as if things were confirmed.

Her father, the King was the first to address her, from his seat by the living quarter's fireplace.

"Wheat, none of this is your fault. There was no way you could have realistically prevented this. I'm sure."

The Queen was the second.

"What Cave does by himself is in no way related to you. You're twins, remember? Not exact copies."

The Head-Fighter stepped out of the corner, where he was standing at attention.

"That being said...", He started, thick mustache nearly brimming with sterness, "I want to cover some things about the person who was seen with him, this "hooded girl". Those skilled in Espionage have checked their ranks. The alibis check out for all who could be behind this, at least within our Kingdom here. First question- Did this girl commit any acts of violence?"

"Yes.", Wheat answered. "With her fists, she beat my team beyond their surrender statements. My brother-"

"Let's keep this about the girl, please.", the fighter huffed. "Question 2- Was she an expert at being stealthy?"

Wheat nodded. "I would say so. Her footsteps never made any sound unless she had something to gain by it, and I heard very little from her during combat, as well. But-"

"Question 3- Were her eyes of an abnormal color?"

"Yes, purple. But I don't see what that-"

"Princess Wheat, your brother is now under extreme suspicion of committing a Class-A Non-Murderous Griefing, along with the offenses of Collaboration with treasonous individuals and Unsanctioned violence against those yet to be proven worthy. It is my duty to inform you and the rest of the royal family that although it will be the last resort, lethal action has been approved on your son should he threaten the safety of any of our citizens."

Wheat turned to her parents, who nodded gravely.

Before she could say anything to them, they left.

She couldn't believe it.

Her brother was in danger of being killed by those directly under the command of her parents, and they couldn't do anything?

Something was wrong.


	4. Chapter 4

Exploring: Chapter 4

Titanium Blossom

(_**A/N: For a second there during the last chapter, I was afraid that I wouldn't continue the story. I have this problem of getting over humps when writing stories, so when the trickle of feedback I get runs out, I feel kinda deprived and isolated from any real purpose. Thanks to you who review. Showing interest in my story is the best thing that you all can give to me.)**_

Cave smiled again, squinting in the torchlight. Smiling wasn't something that he did often.

He had always seen it as a form of weakness. But it felt good.

The thing was, he saw leisure as a form of weakness too, so the cavern system that he had dug out and lit up, the one that led out to the sunny archipelago just north of the city's walls, was completely furnished.

Although he couldn't mine or steal enough supplies to make a track through it, it was just as painstakingly labored as his getaway tunnel. In a way, it was a getaway tunnel.

"You know, I could be killed because of all this." Cave stated plaintively to the girl behind him.

She was more inattentive than usual. She didn't even register the statement.

"At the trial, when they ask me why I did it, I won't really have an answer. Maybe because there was no one thing that made me do it. Maybe because there wasn't really a reason. Maybe I'm just a twisted Griefer on the inside."

At Cave's last statement, there was a rustle of cloth as the girl looked up rapidly.

"What?", Cave asked, bemused. "Is it a touchy subject? I know of plenty of people who have been ruined by a griefer. Even the Head-Dyer. He gets these random flashbacks sometimes and-"

Cave was interrupted by a sudden shove from the girl as she ran past him.

"Hey, wait!", Cave shouted, noting to himself that if she was running that fast and suddenly, she probably wasn't really in the mood to wait around.

He started after her, pounding the ground as hard as he could.

What in the world had gotten into her?

When Wheat showed up the next morning at the training centers to prove her worth with the rest of the teens, even those who declined participating in the contest, she was surprised to see a sign posted up that declared boldly,

"**ALL OF LAST NIGHT'S COMPETITORS REMAIN AFTERWARDS FOR DEBRIEFING AND WAIVERS BY INTSTRUCTORS. WITHOUT THIS WAIVER YOU WILL NOT BE PROVEN WORTHY. TESTING IS STILL REQUIRED"**

No doubt Espionage hoods or some Skilled fighters would be conducting the debriefing, and the debriefing probably would be more of asking questions than answering them.

Either way, she wasn't worried about proving her worth. If she could pass the laughably easy Archery test, she just had to get the waiver from whoever was conducting the dubious debriefing.

The training center was a three story brick building that was as wide as a street and took up two blocks of prime property, in the center of the city. As such, the walk to the archery classroom was long, because to save space, they had put it at the end of the building so that the archery range wouldn't intersect with hallways or classrooms.

Because of that long walk, she got to see the greater-than-usual amount of stares headed in her general direction. It was as if every single one of them had never seen her before, and with such a small number of people attending school, it was impossible for them not to have seen her once or twice before.

It must have been the talk of the town that morning. The crown prince, a griefer?

And his poor sister...

Eager to get out their field of view, she turned a corner and got ready to sprint up the stairs, but collided with a hard, tall surface. One that barely budged, and made a 'clink' sound when she collided with it.

Emilio smiled from above her, holding his helmet in his left hand, with his right outstretched towards her.

"Sorry about that", He said, pulling Wheat up to her feet. "My chest is still a bit bruised from the beating that griefer girl gave me. I guess I wasn't paying attention to what was front of me. It could be worse though. I could be Lionel. He's black and blue."

After Wheat got on her feet, Emilio left quickly, doing everything short of jogging to get to his room.

Wheat shrugged and continued on her way.

Cave still had no idea why in the world the girl would run away from him. Even after running in pursuit of her for so long, she still kept her pace.

They had soon since slowed to a jog, but Cave knew that up ahead, there was the exit to the top vacation spots for the people of the city.

The beach on the archipelago wasn't used for industry like the one back in the city, so the citizens loved to flock to it, getting on the tram in droves and coming down for whatever period of time off they got.

It would soon be packed to the edges with teens eager to celebrate their proving themselves worthy, for the entire two week break that they had before they would have to choose their job.

And because it was the first holiday of the season, there was a greater than normal concentration of people within the archipelago, setting up materials and preparing for the coming apocalypse of hungry, thirsty, and exuberant customers.

Not to mention the City Guard, who normally patrolled only the archipelago looking for invasion forces or illegal tunnels.

They weren't that good, obviously, because Cave's tunnel was only two blocks deep at certain points, and as Cave experienced firsthand when the girl threw the door open and shot up the concealed ladder, completely unlocked.

Cave had skill when it came to ladders, though, and caught up to her, nearly within reach of her dangling cloak.

Luckily for him, she stumbled getting off the ladder. Then, as she headed down a slope out of the sparse patch of trees towards the beach, Cave got his choice.

He dived for her, soaring through the air for the split second or two before crashing into her, tackling her slight form to the ground.

He pinned her there until she stopped struggling, both of their bodies heaving as they regained their breath.

Cave whispered pleadingly, while loosening his grip. "Whatever I did to anger you, or scare you, I apologize. I'm in the same boat as you now, so please, will you find it within yourself to forgive me for something I didn't know that I did?"

There was a pause, as her purple irises looked into him again. She let her hands drop from the position they were before, and went slack, hood falling back like a cushion for her head.

They waited there for what seemed like an eternity, before she got up and put her hood back on.

She turned her head to him and nodded, before walking purposely north.

"Hey, you!", Cave shouted to get the girl's attention. "If you don't mind me asking, do you live north of here? As in across the ocean?", Cave asked.

The girl nodded.

"Also, do you have a name that I can actually call you by? Because honestly, its really hard to actually get your attention, and if we go back to wherever you come from, it would be easier to catch your eye without looking like a total fool."

She looked over her shoulder, incredulous.

Cave shrugged, saying, "I know you can't talk, but maybe you have an ID or some necklace or something. Can you write it? I have some paper. And-"

He was interrupted by the sight of the northenmost cove.

Usually reserved for lovers and loners, the northern cove was the most secluded spot on the entire archipelago.

It was surrounded on both sides by a steep and sheer cliff face, and because there wasn't the usual gaggle of people here, the City Guard had kept their tower garrisoned there, with archers and boat-borne soldiers.

Trying to get north here would be like declaring his presence to every naval vessel in the area, and without weaponry or a large ship, they would be sunk or captured within no time.

And if they tried to get around from the beach on either side of the archipelago, they would be spotted going north by the tower.

"If we wait, we can go once the guards leave. They'll be focusing on the other beaches, but if we take out the skeleton crew they post up here, we can go north from here. We'll have to wait a while, though. The testing is probably going on right now, and after that, they go home and get into their summer getups, so I would guess we have around four hours before they'll start redistributing forces.", Cave calculated.

It was a long wait, but Cave dug the foxhole and got inside anyway, making sure he was near impossible to spot, even from next to the hole.

When the girl got next to him as soundless as ever, he realized it would be a very awkward four hours.

The fifth target was more than 100 meters away, so far that you couldn't see its sloppily painted bullseye.

"You have 30 seconds to fire, Princess Wheat.", The instructor informed her. "Remember, you just have to hit the target. You are not required to hit the center of the target to achieve a passing score."

Wheat nodded, and carefully pulled a generic training arrow from the quiver next to her. She held the arrow out in her hand, point first, aligning its tip with what she presumed the center was.

She briefly calculated the angle she would have to shoot at and the distance she would need to pull the string.

Then, with a fluid motion she brought the bow up in one hand, notched the arrow, pulled the bowstring as far back as she could, and let it fly.

The arrow was gone for a second, before the sound of arrow impacting wool was heard.

The instructor at the far end of the range lit three redstone torches, meaning that the target was hit, the target was hit on the first try, and that the target was a direct hit on the center.

A wave of cheers and applause came from the amassed students who had gone before her.

The instructor gave a hearty laugh, saying, "I always knew they would save the best for last, eh? You're all dismissed. Enjoy your break before your work assignments. I know I will."

The students surged out of the door, eager to get home and get out of their training uniforms for the last time. However, some of them were less eager, because they had to attend the debriefing in the Great Hall, which, like most assemblies, was supposed to be an hour long, and consist mainly of old people telling them things that they already knew.

But when she did get to the main hall, she found that rather than having chairs set as if listening to a speech, individual tables were set, as if a booth, with one chair on either side of the tables, and a grimacing Espionage agent at each table.

The Head Instructor looked at each new entry and gave them directions to their table to their general destination.

"Ah, Princess Wheat, yes? That table all the way to the left, with Mr. Southpaw and Mr. Daggerfold.", The Head Instructor commanded, looking up from his large ledger and halfheartedly pointing at the table.

When she arrived at the table, she was immediately greeted by the harsh stare of a bug-eyed man.

"Good.", He stated. "Now that you are all here, I will ask you questions related to your brother and his cohort." The buggy man smiled. "Or should I say consort?"

Wheat got the feeling that talking to this man would be like being on a seesaw. When he smiled, she would grimace, and when she wasn't grimacing, he was.

"Okay, we here at Espionage feel that the best way to get information out of a subject without coercive techniques is to number the questions and not to continue until we feel that we have gained a good amount of information, so I'll lead of with Question number 1, and I want answers from left to right. Okay, here it is. What allowed you to escape the pitfall trap that the others had fallen into? You first, Emilio Southpaw."

Emilio thought for a second, then spoke. "Well, um, the squad and I were positioning for ambush of a force of a much greater size, and because Princess Wheat as our squad leader was so cautious before initiating the assault, the opposing force fell into the pitfall trap themselves, and we were spared."

Lionel made as if to speak.

The man nodded. "I actually don't care what you have to say, Lionel Daggerfold, because a nephew of mine was in your unit and it all checks out. And although the word of a Princess is important, I have no need to see what she has to say on this matter. Question number two. How dangerous was the girl who accompanied Prince Cave? And how did she manage to beat the children of two of the best soldiers in our history? You first, Mr. Southpaw."

Emilio hesitated. "Although I was wearing armor, one punch from her to my chest knocked the breath right out of me, and she didn't even appear to have damaged her hand. I did as the rules said and pulled my flag when she toppled me. My forte isn't dealing with fast bitches with hands like rocks. My record in conventional warfare was much better."

Lionel started to speak, then stopped, to see if he would be interrupted. When he wasn't, he continued, stammering at first, but getting his flow down soon enough.

"We, uh, I mean I was facing her alone, at a close distance, because she got too close for me to launch anything at her. She kicked me in the face, then pummeled me until I gave up."

The man snickered, turning to Wheat.

"Okay, well, on topic, I would say that the girl could have taken all three of us if we tried to stay and fight her. She was extremely dangerous, especially if paired with someone who can use technology, like my brother. She was quiet, quick, and powerful, and defended my brother from many more assaults than just my squad's. In fact, if I wasn't his sister, I'm pretty sure she would have stopped me from entering his den."

The man nodded grimly, as if registering what she had said with the data he had available to him.

"Well, then, time for the third question.", the Espionagier said. "What was the nature of the relationship between Prince Cave and this girl? I assume Princess Wheat here is one of the only people to observe both, so, please tell."

Wheat found herself grimacing at the way he smiled as he said this, as if the question itself was somehow deprecating.

"From what I could tell, it was a working partnership.", Wheat said.

The man smiled even wider.

"Well,", The man started, pausing so that he knew that they were paying attention to him.

"There are two regulators who are ruined for life that clearly testify that the two were sharing a minecart, and that your brother responded with lethal force when they put an arrow in that Griefer girl your brother "worked with". Now tell me, Princess Wheat, and be honest, Question 4, Did your brother make many friends? Any girls? Anybody close? You should know, Wheat, you're a near copy. You've been living with him for years.", He finished with another of his terrible smiles.

"He was never one to make friends, that's true, but-", Wheat was interrupted.

"That's enough. Hold here while I convene with my colleagues. I will return with your debriefing, and a proof of your waiver being signed." The bug-eyed man left to talk to the other Espionage men.

Her eyes met Emilio's.

"Total Douche, period.", He said. "Most espionage people are like him, though. I guess it comes with the job."

"I like it better when they are into backstabs and hoods.", Lionel agreed.

"Their douche-rating went up by 20 percent because they kept me after the exams. I seriously can't wait to hit the beaches, and the ba-" Emilio checked himself, looking at Wheat.

"I mean the beaches.", Emilio finished weakly.

The awkward pause was interrupted by Wheat thinking aloud.

"I'm wondering if I'll go to the beach. I mean, I am a Royal Princess. Is it even proper? What should I wear?", Wheat wondered vocally.

"It's not like we're going straight to the beach or anything. We still have to go home to change. Have your parents ask their advisors about it when you return home. It's not something to miss out on. You only are proven once a lifetime, after all.", Emilio suggested, trying to hide the hint of excitement from his voice.

Wheat had noticed, but before she could say anything, the Espionage officer that was assigned to them came back.

"Here is the official story, kids.", He remarked sardonically. "The royal prince Cave, isolated and uncommunicative, was never truly able to make friends. One day, he broke down and hired a prostitute. Little did he know, this girl was a griefer agent. How do we know this? Because of her purple eyes. Cave, so surprised to see someone who he thought cared for him, was twisted and corrupted into a griefer, and as a result, planned a crime most heinous and disruptive. He planted traps over a span of many months, and built a system that would take him and his griefer consort out of danger."

He paused for breath and looked expectantly at Wheat. Everyone else within eyesight of her was too.

The man continued his story, keeping in the same droning tone he had used before.

"After he enacted his traps last night, two Regulators followed him, and were crippled for life as a result. If Cave is seen, he is to be reported at once, prince or not. The evidence against him is large and he is extremely dangerous, not to mention the agent he has mistakenly believed himself in control of."

The bug-eyed man tossed their waivers down on the table.

" This is the proof that you were written on the sheet. If anyone asks about your eligibility, you may use this to prove it. Leave." The man said, already turning back to his comrades.

Wheat slowly stood, trying to process what had happened.

First of all, she knew it wasn't true. At least, she hoped it wasn't true. The story had too many holes in it. Everyone of privilege knew that Espionage monitored the actions of the royals. And because of the high levels of secrecy within their ranks, it would be impossible to say who got the specific bits of data.

As she shuffled out chewing over the information, being edged around by the now-proven teens who had heard the story. No doubt when she got back home, the advisors would be preparing to go into damage control.

Emilio patted her on the back.

"I don't believe them. And if it were true, I don't blame you or the King and Queen for it." Emilio said.

"Thanks" She said, turning to him and smiling. "But I guess this means I won't be going to the beach."

Emilio looked a bit downtrodden for a second, but put on a smile.

"Well, if you do get to go to the beach, I'll probably be on the cliffs at East Beach. Just in case." Emilio reassured her."

Wheat nodded and left, walking back home along Main Street. Usually people would stop and gaze at her as she walked, but this time, they stopped and stared, moving out of her way.

Word must have gotten out fast.

At the top of the very steep Main Street, she felt winded, and sat next to a cloaked person who had their hood drawn, and elbows on knees, looking as if pondering something.

While she caught her breath and stretched, she felt stupid for not taking the tram as she usually did.

The cloaked figure spoke,

"When I get up and go into this alley, go around the corner and enter from the side. Do so very casually. I'll be on the roof by then, you should make it up too, and fast, because the person tailing you is waiting for you to move. He's leaning there on the wall, looking nonchalantly up the road in your direction. Don't look know. Look normal. I know you can do this. I have some information regarding your brother and what's going on over here."

Wheat stretched again, looking over her shoulder as if to reach her arm out further and reach her foot.

The hooded figure was right. A jacketed man was lounging on a wall, looking up at the end of the street, where she was resting and the cloaked male was poised.

The cloaked figure left, going down the alleyway. Waiting for a few moments, Wheat got up and walked around the corner, before bolting to the entrance to the L-shaped alleyway, and rushing to the wall, leaping up onto a wide windowsill, carrying her momentum with her to spring up to the railing of a balcony.

Hanging there for a split second, she saw the person who was tailing her go past the alleyway entrance without looking in it, rushing.

Wheat pulled herself up and swung her leg up to the edge of the balcony, getting within, but not stopping there. She stepped on the railing and used it to launch herself up to the roof, getting one foot on it and stepping up with the other.

It was a generally flat area, with a few gaps that she would have to jump, but she could see the hooded figure further ahead, in the shadow of a chimney.

Wheat sprinted forward, jumping at the edge and pulling her knees up to maintain her height as she flew over the first gap.

She landed successfully on the next roof, running as soon as her feet touched it.

The next gap came, and it was wider, but Wheat jumped anyway, knowing she would have to catch the ledge. She managed to have her feet contact first, and grabbed the ledge while her momentum was stalled, lifting herself onto the new rooftop.

The cloaked figure was crouched there, in the shadow of a wide chimney. They must have been over a bakery, because there were many chimneys just like it around them.

"Okay, I made it all the way over here, now what?" Wheat asked.

"First," The figure said, "Let's talk about the Espionage branch. It's totally corrupted. The old men get drunk with power and draw the flies to their sweet words. Anyone who speaks out is framed and imprisoned for treason or griefing. Your parents are very big against this sort of thing, but them themselves don't push the subject."

Wheat was shocked. "What? Why?"

The cloaked male shook his head.

"I have to tell you about their plans first. Espionage plans to frame your brother and force you to marry a puppet, so that when your parents die, they'll have power. Before you get ahead of yourself, they won't kill them, because they still have respect for the King and Queen, in a way, but they'll violate their children." He finished his last statement by looking at Wheat.

"How are they supposed to force me to marry? And why hasn't anybody told my parents?" Wheat asked, incredulous.

"People have tried, but were killed before they could actually get an audience. Your parents won't force an examination of Espionage. And before you ask, they won't because Espionage saved us during the Great War. But back on subject, they have ways of getting you in a situation where you would have to marry, but I don't think I have to go into a detail. Just try to watch your back wherever you are, Literally. And-" The figure was interrupted.

"Great War? Are you saying an entire war is excluded from history?", Wheat asked, agasp.

The hood leaned forward. "You seriously thought so much focus was put upon proving yourself because the Kingdom is just a society with high standards? We almost lost a war to a nation in the North, before their leaders were assassinated by some of Espionage's hitmen.

There's apparently a tragedy in there somewhere, but even I couldn't get enough information on it. The point is, your parents are indebted to Espionage, and therefore turn a blind eye so long as they don't really catch wind of anything."

Wheat nodded, realizing that things really had gone wrong.

The hood started talking again

"This thing that happened with your brother, the whole griefing thing... I don't know if all of it is true, but Espionage jumped on the wagon as soon as they saw it. Your brother will be going down. You should do your best to stay out of it. In fact, I would run myself. They'll win in the end, so it's best if you aren't the card they use. They have a bad habit of leaving the ace in their sleeve soiled at the end of the game."

Wheat shook her head, anger building up. "No. I will not run. I'm not my brother, and I'm not some tamed wolf that will answer their every beck and call. I'm fighting. And I'm going to win."

The hood slipped off the figure's head as he glanced over the chimney at a sudden noise.

He had thick eyebrows, and very short black hair. His face was best described as diminutive, or sneaky.

"It's your tail. And his friends. This won't end well if we both don't leave and relocate. Goodbye for now." He put his hood on and sped out of the shade of the chimney, dropping to the alleyways after making his way off the roof.

Wheat had no idea why he did what he did, but she had a feeling he was truthful when he told her to run.

She kept low and snuck around the chimney, hearing the scrape of gravel as one of the men jumped from their roof to her roof. She made it to the edge of the bakery, and dropped down onto a pile of used wheat bags.

Before she could go too far, a menacing man who resembled an ox, and a man who resembled a weasel came in from deeper in the alley.

The weaselish man held a stiletto knife in his hand, and was twirling it around his fingers with flair, looking meaningfully at Wheat.

"Come with us, girl, if you don't wish to be gutted right now.", the oxish man said, doing what must for him been a stealthy walk, but was really nothing more than a slow shuffle that looked miserably embarrasing.

Wheat turned around and jetted for the exit onto Main Street, but collided with a man brandishing a club. He smiled, one of his teeth missing, and feigned a swing, as if threatening to hit her.

Knowing she only had one chance at it, she kneed the man in his groin, feeling the soft squish as her knee was brought up to the man's bone, his vulnerables caught between the two surfaces.

He let the club loosen in his hand, and Wheat grabbed it, whacking him in the head as he collapsed to the floor, making him drop even faster.

She turned and swung at the hand and stiletto that were about to be pressed into her back, to force her to come with them.

The knife flew and stuck into the wall. A man in the bakery heard the clatter and looked out the window, eyes widening in alarm as he saw the princess fighting the thugs.

She could tell that the people on the roof of the bakery were waiting to pounce at the right time, so even though the weasel's hand was disabled, she put all of her force into a swing from above to knock him down.

The oxish man lunged at her and dodged most of her swing, catching the rest with his hands and wrenching the club out of Wheat's hands.

Before she could do anything, the ox of a man brought it down on her shoulder, barely missing her head as she did her best to dodge. She felt great pain and heard a very bad crack, but her blood was pumping too fast to care. As the ox-man took a swing sideways at her head, she ducked and punched him in the solar plexus, where she had been taught was an area with a large concentration of energy.

The man gasped and halfheartedly brought the club up again, but using her uninjured elbow, she brought her elbow up, knocking the bullish man's head back, and putting him off balance. She kicked him in his unprotected crotch, and took the club in the resulting cessation of action.

With a final swing, she knocked him down. She started to stagger to the Main Street side of the alleyway, her battle-sense dying down.

Just as she got there, the man who had been tracking her stepped over the unconcious body of his comrade, swinging some kind of cane-sword back and forth.

Tired, Wheat backed away, trying to regain her energy. She felt the sharp prick of a knife on the skin of her back, and a hand over her mouth.

Rancid breath poured out next to her ear, uncomfortably warm.

"You're going to pay for what you did to our friends here. In fact, once we get them back up, they'll have a few things they'll want to do to you too. You should have given up when you first came down here. Now, everything will be ten times as worse. We'll start off wi—"

The man was interrupted as Wheat elbowed him, knocking the knife's point out of the shallow layer it had penetrated. She grabbed the man's arm and twisted him around.

He obviously wasn't expecting to be shoved so bodily around, and neither was the first man to be tailing Wheat, because the cane-sword ended up embedded in his buddy's back.

The person who was providing back-up to the man who had pressed the knife up to her, who looked like a fish in action and facial features was unarmed, so she rushed at him and kicked him in his unguarded knee, punching him in the face to bring his guard down after he lowered to one knee, and then finishing off the whole business with the trusty kick to the groin.

But her foot struck hard metal, and felt as if it broke.

The look of surprise on her face was apparent and the fish-man spit blood out of his mouth, before muttering, "Metal codpiece, bitch." and kicking her as she tried to get back.

She fell on top of him, purposefully targeting the soft gut area, and when his breath was knocked out of him, pummeling him loosely with the one hand that could retain function.

The man went limp after a few moments, but she was kicked in the ribs, falling over on her back, cane-sword pointed at her neck.

"I'll teach you some manners, goddamn devil. You'll be feeling this long after I bury my murdered comrade.", he said, sharp, bloodstained blade extending from his cane, and nearly pricking her neck.

"I have my orders, and those are the only things preventing me from killing you now. But I can rough you up before I turn you in.", with the last statement, he flipped the cane around to its handle-end, and made as if to swing.

Wheat grabbed the handle, with the last of her strength, and tried to make the distal blade cut into the artery in the man's armpit.

Before she could see if it would work or not, he was crushed by a mountain wearing thick armor, wielding her dropped club.

Emilio stood there, grimace on his face, until he looked at Wheat, who was still moving, attempting to get to her feet.

"Shite!", He exclaimed. "That was a close one."

(_**A/N: Living up to the M rating, I guess. Anyway, the next installment may take even longer, because of a week long trip, and wrapping up the last of my summer classes. Either way, I myself can't wait to see how the story goes from here.)**_


	5. Chapter 5

Exploring

TitaniumBlossom

Chapter 5

_**(A/N: Ah, Shadowfang3000, I can always count on you for a good laugh, eh? My speed might be even slower for a while, because I just got back from a vacation. Also, you can add Team Fortress 2 and No More Heroes to my list of possible future series to write about. And pretty much every Persona game released.)**_

"I guess that just killed the whole beach option, huh?" Emilio joked. "But seriously, how's your arm?"

"I need some food" Wheat said. "My arm is dead and my ribs are aching. And just wait-"

Wheat paused as she looked around Emilio, seeing the crowd gather up behind him, with a few watchmen push their way to the head of the crowd."

"Just wait, Emilio. Seriously, its very important. I'll tell as soon as we're clear of these guys."

The crowd parted when they saw Wheat in front of them, the Princess's training tunic dirtied, her shoulder hanging loosely at her side.

"She could use some food, you know." Emilio announced to the entire crowd. "It's not often that the Princess needs help after singlehandedly fighting off some thugs."

The watchmen that had been moving their way slowly to the front of the crowd rushed up when they heard Emilio's declaration.

The City Guard were a good-natured bunch, but the town Watch had to be the most borderline group of them all.

Unlike the Palace Guard, or Coast Patrol, or even the Underground Maintenance Division, they often couldn't see the scope of their actions, and were characterized by many as blowing things out of proportion.

The lot who were standing in front of Emilio and sternly observing him were certainly on the "taking things too seriously spectrum".

"Princess Wheat!" A particularly short guardsmen said, visor slipping down onto his face. "Are you injured? Which way did those criminals go? And who is this rascal here with the club?"

Before Wheat could explain anything, Emilio interjected with his own answers. "Princess Wheat here defended herself against a group of men who wished to do her harm. I saved her at the end, when she was at cane-point. One of her shoulders was hit by a club, and she's bleeding lightly from a small prick in her back from a knife."

The short man had a notebook and was jotting down notes rapidly.

A man from the crowd proffered a loaf of bread as if offering a sword of the highest quality. Emilio thanked him on behalf of the Princess and handed to Wheat.

As she took a few bites from the bread, she realized that she was extremely close to collapsing, right there.

She staggered over to Emilio and leaned against him. The crowd gasped, and the two watchmen stepped up, as if dealing with a threat.

"It's all right.", Wheat reassured them, realizing this wasn't doing too well for the whole "avoid espionage blackmail material" thing. "I was just very worried during the battle, and whatever was keeping me energized wore off just now. This is Emilio Southpaw, and I'm sure I can trust him to maintain a warrior's sworn duty, not least because of his father's outstanding military service."

The two watchmen, and a few of the older men's faces, changed in some way, the jaw tighter, but their eyes squinting less, and their posture a bit straighter.

"I guess we can trust your judgement, Princess Wheat. I believe a litter has already been called, and-" The shortest guard broke off to take a peek around Wheat's shoulder, and the bodies and the one corpse. "The watch will take care of these ruffians for you."

Wheat despised the litter, but put on her princess face and thanked them, getting off of Emilio just as the litter arrived, borne atop the backs of the Litter Corps, the highly trained division of the Palace Guard that carried the Litter but also knew techniques to keep it defended.

She got up on the litter, drawing the curtains down once she was in, mumbling a few words of greeting to the litter crew, who seemed like they would soon be a bigger part of her life after this debacle.

Wheat took another bite of the bread still held in her hand, feeling the soreness in her ribs die down. With every further chomp of the rough bread, so much unlike what they got in the castle, the pain went away even further. No longer facing the snapping jaws of pain, it was simple to just let her eyelids slip. Sleep came like the club, unstoppable and powerful.

It was irritating, watching what were once his peers frolic in exuberance, at least to the west and east. The cove that his new friend was watching, the one by which they would make their escape, was filled more with people at repose, lounging, or gazing at the view pensively, or gazing at each other soulfully. All in all, the cove was the most pretentious place possible.

No doubt even if he was not on the run from the City Guard, he would still probably not be on the beach, even the northern cove.

He probably would be in the abandoned mines beneath the castle, once explored by his parents, but since abandoned and locked away.

There were many things there, such as a strange shelter-like cavern. As far as he knew, there weren't any wars on the home turf of the kingdom, so there shouldn't have been a need for the secret escapes and heavy fortification.

He felt a tap on his shoulder, and spun around, facing the girl with the hood. She pointed with the other hand at the Coast Patrol leaving.

"All right, let's go. We'll have to remove anybody in the tower first, then I'll toss the boat down into the water, and we'll jump in. Get ready to run. Everyone's facing towards the ocean, so we should stick closer to the treeline and then move out to the bluff."

She nodded.

Together, they climbed out of the foxhole and snuck through the trees until they were lined up with the steep incline to the lighthouse/watchtower structure that now had only the bare minimum of men housed in it. According to what he had read in the record hall, that was 5, but those five were generally the best possible.

Cave and his female friend successfully made it up to the tower, and scrambled over the gate that ringed it, jumping from that to a first story window, avoiding the guard who patrolled the perimeter. They would get him when the upper stories were cleared.

The first target was a guard leaning against his chair, facing a window. He didn't expect the topple and the crash as his head hit the ground.

The guard on the stairs, going up and down heard the sound and rushed to investigate.

He was knocked out silently with a strong tap to the back of his neck.

The other two were both on the top floor, looking through telescopes, so they were easy prey.

The guard on the perimeter had to be lured into the tower, and then bludgeoned into unconciousness, but that was easy if you fell on top of him from him enough.

Cave tried hard not to injure any of the guards, because they were, after all, just trying to protect the kingdom, and in a honest way, unlike certain things he knew Espionage was getting up to.

They really had the kingdom in their hands. They were like coiled vipers, wrapped around the soul of the city, ready to strike at its most important targets.

The explosives they had underneath the city, the bribes to various high-ranking individuals. Espionage probably would take what they could from the situation and make him the scapegoat of the century.

He knew what was being hidden, and that made him bitter, so when he got into the boat, trying hard not to capsize it, and the girl followed him, landing lightly without making it shake, he left without looking back.

The boat sped north, propelled by some unknown motion, steered by Cave. He knew where the traps were, and avoided them, dodging Coast Patrol ships and the dastardly traps meant to keep invasion forces out.

Once they were on the open ocean, he relaxed a bit, but kept an eye on his surroundings.

The span of ocean here was actually some form of extremely large bay that opened to the right. The surveying crew from the Skilled Miners was very vague in their report, but the mountain range on the left side was also in danger of eroding, spared only by its greater height.

The large expanse of ocean, once a valley, had islands that were the result of hills not quite covered with water. They were small, desert-type islands, but if they ever needed to camp for the night, they could probably find respite on one of them, if they hid the boat and dug deep enough.

The operations log of the Coast Patrol basically centered around their maritime expeditions, so if they didn't get sheltered when night-time came around, they definitely would be in deeper trouble.

The girl was trailing her fingers in the water, getting the arm of her cloak wet in the process. Cave couldn't explain it, but she seemed so much freer than anyone he had met before, even if she wore the heavy cloak at all times.

And who knew, maybe she would shed the cloak, and her silent demeanor, once they reached her homeland. Either that or he would have to get his own cloak, and focus on maintaining monk-like silence. Oh, what a life.

When the knock came at her window, she was hesitant to open it. Not out of concern for her safety, but concern that the Palace Guard posted outside of her door would hear it and come in to investigate.

After she had explained it to both her parents and the head of the guard, there was a steep increase in the number of armed eyes upon her. Her parents expressed their concern, but didn't even say anything when she mentioned the fact that somehow Espionage might be behind this. Maybe she wasn't clear enough, or maybe, the person on the roof was right.

Her parents were slaves to Espionage because of how they had ended the war so long ago.

Was the opposing force years ago really that terrible, to the point where her parents were mortified to even say a word opposed to the organization that had vanquished them?

When she opened the window, the hooded boy, about her age swung down.

"Where the hell were you when those thugs were trying to beat me up?"

"They weren't trying to beat you up, if you catch my drift... And anyway, what good would it have been if they had obtained my identity? That would leave you without an information source, and you seem all right now."

"They were going to kill me, you idiot.", Wheat pressed. "I just got lucky."

"Hell, they weren't going to kill you! Unless you did something..."

"I pushed one of them in front of another's sword. They were definitely trying to rough me up by that point."

The teen stopped pacing on Wheat's balcony.

" They won't even ask next time. They'll drug you, or knock you unconscious, and then drag you off to wherever they think that they can keep you long enough to complete the brainwashing process."

"Brainwashing?", Wheat asked, face twisted quizzically.

"They'll take you and erase your will and replace it with their own. And then you, with an Espionage-designed baby within you, and a mind totally dedicated to Espionage, you will be nothing but a pawn."

"Wow." Wheat remarked, still processing the information. "Is everybody from Espionage screwed up, or is it just –

"Princess Wheat?", A voice interrupted. "Is everything alright in there?"

The correct response was "I'm just fine and dandy, thank you very much." If she said anything to the contrary, it would trigger the silent alarm among the guards.

She did, then turned to the once again pacing figure.

"Keep an ear out for me, okay? But you have to go now. The next patrol is destined to show up on the battlements behind you any time now."

The teen left. From behind, she could tell that it was the Espionage kid from the banquet yesterday night. Another privileged child of the Skilled, like Marcus.

She went back to sleep, making sure to bar the window and draw the heavy metal shutters over it.

When nighttime came, Cave and his friend with the purple irises had to stop at a lightly wooded island, which seemed to feed into the ocean. He guided the boat up the inlet and into a stand of reeds.

He had the wool and the wood to make at least one bed, so he made the workbench and the bed for it quickly, while the girl idly walked around and looked out at the ocean.

Although the ocean was freshwater, Cave probably wouldn't drink it, especially closer to the city. The things people dumped in it was just disgusting.

"Get to sleep.", Cave commanded. "The monsters will start coming out any time now, and I don't have enough torches to light the entire island."

The girl nodded and laid on the bed, looking at him expectantly, as if asking him what he would do.

"I'm alright. I still have to build the shelter. After that, It would be better to watch out for the monsters out there. If a creeper was right outside, that would be unfortunate."

The girl turned over in bed, facing the other way. Cave worked fast, moving the dirt into thin walls and a low roof. He put a lone torch on one wall, and dug a deep trench around the hut, just as the sun finished setting.

For the final part of the temporary shelter, he put some dirt across the lower half of the entrance, to prevent anyone from entering,

Than he sat with his back against the wall, pointed towards the single open space into the night, his bow beside him.

Time went past quickly, and accompanied by the sounds of skeletons and zombies, the sun rose and he could hear a faint burning sound as if the monsters were ignited.

The girl tossed and turned throughout the night, but stayed asleep, as far as Cave could tell.

Once the sun rose fully, she snapped awake and rolled out of bed, standing up as soon as her feet hit the floor.

She did a double take when she looked at Cave, who probably looked dead eyed after staying awake for so long.

Cave smiled reassuringly.

"We should get going.", He announced. " We're probably 70% of the way to the Northern Lands."

She nodded, and they left the hut, Cave taking the bed and folding it up, before fishing the boat out of the reeds and getting into it, keeping a very close eye out for any creepers, because they never were set on fire by the coming day.

Once he had the boat going in the right direction, Cave tried to lay back in the boat and catch up on his sleep, confident that the girl would tell him if they ran into anything.

He closed his eyes, letting his head rest on something soft. He thought it was his pack, but he was far too tired to care, and fell asleep without pomp or circumstance.

Wheat idly stared out the window in the study, at the archipelago, where she could faintly see small figures frolicking and lounging on the beach.

She could also see armored guards patrolling the beach, and trees cut down, large watchtowers replacing them.

The train kept on delivering large chests filled with something that shined, probably iron. There was a tall wall separating the beach and the forest, and the supplies entered through a thick gate.

The Head Advisor, a stern and wrinkly woman with a tendency to lecture, even to the King and Queen, was sitting across from her, filling out a form, one of the many that she had.

"Princess, dear, don't assume that I'm unhappy to have you here. In fact, after yesterday's incident, I'm glad to keep you inside, and away from the hooligans that persist down there in the city. One would almost welcome griefers with that lot around." The head advisor spoke carelessly, as if the talking was just a distraction.

"You know, Princess, you should find some kind of indoor occupation. I know you are good with a bow, but that's no way for a true princess to act. When's the last time you've heard of a princess going into battle? As a woman of high class, and a royal heir, you should take up something that doesn't even require you to leave the safety and comfort of the castle. I protested to my fullest your studying of archery, to have you know."

Wheat let her prattle on, not taking any of it to heart. After all, she'd been hearing this sort of thing her entire life, and whatever weapon was being assembled on the beach intrigued her more than what the old hag who advised her parents had to say.

As she watched the work crews building fortifications and mechanisms on the island, a thought struck her. The only reason why there would be an entire new system of defense on the island would be some new threat. Or a returning threat. Wheat didn't want to consider it, but the enemies from the North might be coming back. Maybe the girl purported to have seduced her brother was a spy, and was about to bring the information gathered from the countless amount of time spent within the city to the enemy, who would then invade and kill everyone, with the royal prince as a hostage for any attempts at real resistance.

Her brother would probably end up dead, any method he took to get back home, so it was best that he stayed wherever he reached.

No one seemed to be mentioning him, even her parents, for the brief moments they were present at the dining hall, before going to the throne room, where they were to hold audience until sunset.

It was a relatively recent change, her parent's ignoring her in exchange for their duties.

Before, they used to take care and listen to what she had to say, but not in the past year.

Were they aware of their old enemy returning? Or were they under some kind of influence?

Too many questions, and too fast. Wheat returned to looking out of the window, a military history tome abandoned in front of her.

The only option now was to wait and see.

When he woke up, Cave found that he was tied. His wrists and ankles were bound to a thick wooden pole, and he was facing the ground. Remarkably, he didn't feel any pain, but that was probably because his torso and abdomen were also encircled by ropes, lessening the pressure on his joints.

Below him, a stream of dirt and grass flowed below him, so Cave deduced that they were carrying him horizontally.

He decided not to speak, instead looking around. The people here wore colorful garments that could best be described as exotic.

Most of them were wearing shorts, probably due to the hot and humid atmosphere that surrounded them, and a few went shirtless, but almost all of them wore some kind of light red shirt on, supplemented by leather shoulder pads which were attached to a small leather plate on either side of the chest area.

Some of them had bows across their backs, but most of them didn't seem to be carrying any weapons at all. They walked in single file on either side of him, keeping an eye on the dripping jungle around them.

As one of them turned their head, he saw that they had purple irises, just like the girl. He could hear faint whispering behind him though, so they obviously weren't all mute like her.

He relaxed his eyelids so that it would look as if he was sleeping, but kept observing what was around him. He had fallen asleep in the boat, and woke up tied to the pole.

He couldn't see the girl who had been his traveling companion, but it seemed like, according to a sinking feeling, that he had been played.

The procession went on for an uncountable period of time.

They went over a large stone bridge lit by lightstone, passing quite a few people, some lounging against walls, some riding in strange cart-like devices pulled by one person. It seemed as if they were entering a city, evidenced by the paved road, and the multistory wood buildings that lined the streets, sometimes with people in their windows, sometimes hidden behind wooden shutters. Some kind of guard, with a leather helmet and a wooden spear-like weapon was patrolling every few blocks.

The surroundings seemed to get more ornate as the pole traveled through town, and seemed to have a crowd wherever it went.

Cave reasoned that he was being carried into some royal district, to be presented in front of some authority.

The ride on the pole continued for quite a while, not getting on any of the many boats that floated unattended on the canal, neither the strange air-trams that existed.

They finally stopped in front of a large gate. There was a whispered conversation, and the thick wooden

gate slid open, pulled apart as if it were on rails.

They went through a courtyard in which trainees wearing heavy wooden armor were performing some kind of stamina-building exercise.

That meant that he was in some kind of garrisoned fortress, probably.

There was another series of doors, and then his ties were cut in an pitch-black room. He fell to the ground, but before he could get up, a voice spoke to him, strangely accented.

It seemed to be his language, but with more emphasis on the vowels, as if they were heavier things.

"We knew you were awake, so don't try and pretend you were sleeping. We have brought you here because we are dealing with a great crisis, and your skill may be what we need to solve it. We are a peaceful people, who take up arms only to defend ourselves. There was once a war between ours and yours. I took you from your land both as an act of goodwill, and an act of necessity."

Cave stayed silent, just as she had stayed silent when she was with him.

"I never spoke because it's nearly impossible to hide our accent. I wore that cloak to hide my identity. It's the rules for us, as the Hidden, when in foreign lands. It was never necessary, so I never chose to stop either practices."

A rumbly male voice rose from the crowded room.

"We needed you because you know a lot about something we do not; destruction. We are facing a similar issue to your nation's. We have your... griefer... problem here, too, but it is far worse. We need to know how they do it, and how to prevent it, and because you seemed to be the most open about it, Agent Jilna here picked you. You have a day of rest here before we bring you to the next general meeting. Use it wisely."

There was the sound of many footsteps as the soldiers who had been escorting him shuffled out. The door closed, and behind a pane of glass in the roof, lightstone shone, illuminating the room, and the obviously sturdy wooden door that appeared to be barred from the outside.

A bed was present, as was a painting, so it seemed like the room wasn't a prison, more of a holding room. Cave lay on the bed, biding his time and trying not to sweat in the oppressive humidity and heat that pervaded into whatever this building was.

Betrayal was a strange thing.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

TitaniumBlossom

(_**Thanks for those rapid reviews, guys. Things are building up now, so there won't be too many chapters remaining in the story. Also, I'm totally swamped with school, so sorry for the slow updates.=)**_

__The espionage boy came again that night.

"They're mobilizing their hit-squads. If anyone is found dead tomorrow, assume it was them. They're also scrubbing the ranks. Either they are expecting company, or they know you are being visited. In fact, I just-"

The teen turned to his right as he heard a whooshing sound. A blade was sticking into his chest area from the side.

Wheat almost screamed but instead, as the boy fell over the precipice, she was too busy trying to get her window's shutters closed.

The fall wasn't that deep, and the wound was survivable if he had some food on him, but whoever threw that strange blade contraption would aim better if an important target, -like a princess- presented itself.

The shutters screeched and would not close, so as a secondary option, Wheat grabbed her bow and flattened her self against the wall, stringing her bow and opening her quiver.

It was at times like this that she appreciated not having too much in the way of breasts, because they would have gotten in her way as she nocked an arrow and pulled it back, at the ready.

She turned the corner of her window and searched for the target.

A tall cloaked figure crouching on a parapet threw something at her that missed, and she let her arrow fly into him. He toppled backwards of the castle, which was once a mountain, a lethal fall, even before the arrow.

Her first murder. Already, the guards entered the room, looking, asking.

For a second, Wheat hesistated. And then she told them everything.

"First order of business- Congratulate Hacié Jilna on her acquisition of a valuable resource. It's not often that an agent gets an opportunity to serve both her land and her own purposes."

Cave was sitting in a cushioned chair, in a tall assembly hall that had rows and seats up to the ceiling, almost all filled with silent uniformed people.

Hacié, now devoid of her cloak, wearing the brown shorts and sleeveless leather shirt standard to the armed personnel of this nation, stepped up to the elevated platform, where a bearded man put a heavy necklace of gold around her neck.

"Now, we will question her most recent snatch... and possible future king."

Cave twitched. He went through the logic of it, and he came up with two main contenders for what was going on. Hacié either was a princess, and selected Cave to be the King when she went to the throne, or Cave was so unique that he was taken as a valuable leader.

It was clear that it was the first one. That made the most sense. But why would they let a princess be a spy in a foreign land? This nation seemed to be a lot freer than his.

The majestic looking man sitting at the head of the room, who had been directing everything, stepped down and walked to the platform, where a table was being set up; as he sat, Cave was directed towards him.

"While you have met my daughter, Hacié, I have yet to meet you. My name is Hiremon, and you can consider me somewhat of an in-law. That is, if you wish to stay with the crown princess, yes?"

Realizing that Hiremon had just asked a question, Cave searched for the right answer, an answer that would somehow let him decide later, after more thought.

"I'm okay with staying. I have nowhere to go after all, so I appreciate the graciousness bequeathed to me by the royal family."

King Hiremon smiled graciously.

"You have a silver tongue, my boy, but I suppose we will have to test your wit at another time, for I wish to speak about your experiences and how they can help us. You are on the run for some serious griefing, right?"

"Yes, I interrupted the tests that were basically how we proved ourselves. It's not like I killed anyone."

"That doesn't really matter to us, though. You see, we have our own griefing problem. A lot worse than yours. They seem to be based around here somewhere. We are very close to pushing them out, but we don't want to fall into a trap. This wasn't always a problem you know, it was after the war..."

Cave noticed that everyone seemed to hang their head in a way when the war was mentioned.

"Excuse me for my ignorance, but I don't actually know much about the war."

"Yes, our agents told us about that. The war between our two nations took place more than a decade ago, back when we both were fledgling states. We had the better military, they had a better espionage force. Many were killed. All settlements on the islands were destroyed. We were about to launch an attack on your side, but the King and Queen were killed by assassins. After that, we had to recoup and gather everyone back. We retreated our armed forces and rebuilt. They did so too. The ruins of our settlements still lie on the islands in the sea between us."

Cave nodded, realizing that the war fit in with what he knew. But there wasn't really any reason why it had happened.

"The worst thing about this whole situation is that it was set up. It was a case of mistaken cause, and unfortunate effect. One of our flagship cargo barges was destroyed, in their territory, by who we thought to be competing merchants chartered by your nation. The truth was, it was really a griefing disguised to set off a war. I don't know if your nation knows about it, but seeing as they won't even tell anyone about the war, I would doubt you could tell us anything on that manner, so let's return to the main reason we could use you. What would be the first you do when you arrive on scene for a griefing?"

The expectant look in Hiremon's face made it seem as if he was being tested rather than petitioned for advice.

He thought thoroughly before answering.

"I would make sure that I had an avenue of escape, and make sure that I wasn't under surveillance. Then I would start the placement of traps and structures."

A man with a few medals on his chest who stood with hands behind his back at the corner nodded to King Hiremon.

"Well, with that part completed, -"

The King was about to continue with the examination, but a courier entered into the assembly room and stood conspicuously.

"What is it?", Hiremon asked, miffed at the interruption.

"It's the griefers, sir. They've mobilized and are sailing across the ocean to the south! Our naval scouts were decimated when they tried to pursue."

Hiremon grimaced.

"Alright, I'll leave the examination for later, Cave. Right now, my army and I are heading out to get rid of a real thorn in our side. Maybe your knowledge won't be needed after all."

With that, the majority of people in the room left, hasty. Only a few were still present, one of them being Hacié.

"I don't think you understand what it means to be my Prince, judging by the silly look on your face. You aren't my husband, you know. A prince or princess in this land is not hereditary. We prove our worth. It just so happens I'm also the King's daughter. You'll be an assistant of sorts, so it would be best not to expect anything. A better term would be servant, even. Welcome to the service of the People, Cave."

Cave tried to make his face blank, because the shock made his jaw sag and he didn't want his "silly" look turning into something even worse.

Hacié continued, entourage of armored guards posing protectively nearby.

"This whole griefers fleeing into the ocean incident probably riled up the capital prefecture, the section of the land that I have to rule over. They were in the optimal pathway. I suppose I should take care of it, but my regent seems to be doing a great job. I suppose I must help the king stop whatever the griefers are planning. Accompany ME this time, Cave, because my people are on the warpath."

Hacié walked off, her guards following in a single file line.

Cave had no choice but to follow her.

After that incident, all of the castle's residents were sheltered deep within the sanctuary. It was a similar structure, but underground. Wheat's father still went up for audiences, and you could leave if you wanted to, but you slept and lived in a more secure environment.

The Espionage informant that she had been talking to was taken into custody, and was no doubt being interrogated by the Espionage members he had betrayed.

The man that she had killed was revealed to be another purple-eyed fiend, further driving in the point that her brother was a filthy traitor.

Even worse, scouts kept on bringing back news about a large force heading across the ocean, but it was strange that the fortifications were made a day before even the king got an announcement.

Wheat had a lot of time on her hands, so while pacing back and forth in her room, she realized that it was possible that griefers could have infiltrated organizations, just as they can and have infiltrated buildings.

If that was true, then maybe the griefers were like a parasite, or a disease, that just happened to be infected within something else.

No one around her would believe her if she told them, but maybe her team would believe her. If there was a conflict, they would need to know what they were up against. Something that had defeated them once before.

That is, if the Griefers were those who were the true perpetrators of the last war. Maybe they had tricked both sides into something.

Notwithstanding, she had to get out of the underground bunker, and into the town, because Emilio and the rest needed to know, because they would no doubt be at the fore if the griefers made it past the defenses.

The many entrances were guarded by the Palace Guard, so there was no way she could leave through any of the real exits. But as she paced, she realized that if her brother had preplanned underground tunnels around the city, he wouldn't leave an area like this secured completely.

First, she searched through his room, but there was absolutely nothing there. She checked every single brick, nearly ripping her skin apart from prying at the chunks in the mortar. Defeated, she went back to her room, and punched the wall pointlessly.

She jumped back, flinching slightly at the loud grinding sound as a space roughly the size of her was pushed to the side, revealing a tunnel with a flickering light at its end.

Her "traitor " brother constructed a tunnel in her room. That meant that he either hoped he could take her with him if they had to escape, or he was banking on the chance that she wouldn't be in her room when the time came to escape.

Trusting her brother not to have made a death trap to kill her, she climbed into the tunnel, and realized that she wouldn't have to crouch down too low to make it through the tunnel, even though her size didn't exactly help her.

She wound herself around the snaking tunnel, before emerging through the final hole to a place that was lit well, with lightstone, and paved, but obviously unattended to, based upon the mossy cobblestone and the general state of disrepair , it wasn't used, or hadn't been used for years.

There was a wall of obsidian and a thick iron door at the end of the hallway. A strange, ominous sound leaked out, though, filled with screams. She knew that whatever was behind it, she wouldn't want a part of it.

The other end of the hallway was a slightly more open wooden door, and she quickly moved towards it, being very cautious not to add any more sound to the loud sound of grinding emerging from the closing block behind her.

The door turned out to be into another tunnel system, which led into a sandbar, the hole around the vertical entrance nearly overflowing with seawater.

She was just off of the south shore of the archipelago, judging from the angle she could see the walls at. The gigantic canvas tent that she had been watching the following day from her window high above was still in place, but it was open. However, there were no signs of people on the latticework surrounding the tent that had been there before, and she couldn't see anyone on the streets from where she was. Before any sort of search could take place, however, a red box that she could only hope wasn't TNT fell from the sky and before she could do anything blew up the patch of land to her right, away from the shore. Another fell next to her, this time shocking her a bit.

Without thinking, she ran in the direction of the town, with the deafening boom of falling projectiles all around her. She thought she could handle it, but an enormous, resounding blast of sound suddenly erupted from the tent structure in front of her. In fact, the blast took the entire tent away, revealing a large cannon structure that had just launched a flurry of explosive back at the griefers who had fired at them.

It was full out war, she realized. And it was coming to her shores. She quickened her pace, attempting to beat the ships to her home.

Cave ducked nervously behind the thick door of the cabin as another dynamite bundle barely missed their ship.

"Cease that at once." Hacié commanded. "It won't make you any safer and it makes me look cowardly by sheer comparison. If you die, do so courageously, not flinching like some weakling."

Cave straightened up, and the next time that a TNT charge landed near them, and blew his face full of splinters, he came very close to cursing under his breath but refrained from doing so, instead pulling them out forcefully while eating a piece of cake.

He really didn't know where it had gone wrong. Was Hacié really that harsh? What happened? He had always perceived that she was a kind person, but in the many hours it took to get ready and get to the shore of his own land, he had already seen her destroy several people, on the basis of little things, like flinching, or not lifting something correctly. Really, Cave could have just jumped over the side already, but he somehow didn't feel like that would solve anything.

So instead, he stayed in place, looking his death in the eyes, or so he thought.

But every now and then he would give a sidelong glance at the scowling Hacié.


	7. Chapter 7

Exploring: Chapter 7

By Titanium Blossom

The town was in chaos. The distant explosions coming ever closer and closer had stirred up the residents into a fervor, so when Wheat arrived on the street, they failed to acknowledge her among the throngs of soldiers rushing to their defenses, the panicking citizens flooding towards the mountain-bound trains that headed towards the mining camp deep within the rocky slopes. A few just sat or stood in a stupor, memories of past experiences too much for their minds, and if they moved, they did so in a strangely slow way that seemed to hang back at random moments.

By the time she was in the center of the city, her ears were deafened and ringing, the ships having moved faster than she could into the city, nearly leveling the seaside district, and wreaking heavy damage on the heavily populated core of the city.

She was expecting the worse, when she saw Emilio digging at a pile of rubble, throwing rocks aside. She had been too late. The first wave of griefing had came and went. However, there was still time to warn them about the nature of the force itself. It must have worked itself into the very fabric of the Kingdom's defense system.

"Emilio, they..." Wheat trailed off when Emilio turned around, an broken-off arrow shaft in his shoulder, tears in his eyes.

"Why, Wheat? Why is this happening? I got them all together... Why did they die? Everyone... The rubble... And then the cloaks shot us. And now they're buried." Emilio sobbed and gasped at the same time, a disturbing sound like a dying man's last breaths. "Ha.", He weakly laughed, then again "Ha. Ha. Ha Ha Ha."

Emilio was soon laughing like a madman. Wheat hesitated, and then slapped him across the faee.

"Stop this.", she said. "We have to go. They're coming, And the only thing that can save us is ourselves. Do you want to die as well? I'm serious about this. The griefers are not who we thought they were. They're on both sides. And they go high up, too. We have to get to my parents and tell them of this. Otherwise, they'll be vulnerable for a close betrayal any time now. Let's go."

She set off, not looking back, but she could hear Emilio's steps behind her. After a few minutes, she heard his footsteps stop as he turned around. It was surprising she could still hear after all the TNT but she heard a distant echoing war call behind her, and the sudden speeding up of Emilio's steps, as if he was running. A second war cry was emitted from in front of them, and there was an audible thunder of rushing footsteps charging down the middle of the ruined town mall.

It was the remnants of their army against whatever force the griefers had managed to gather. Thankfully, Wheat and Emilio were stationed further to the outskirts of the battle, but she knew that as soon as she informed her parents about what was going on, she would return to the battle, bow in hand.

Emilio behind her managed to keep pace, and after eating a cookie he had with him, managed to get over the arrow wound that he had. It was at least a mile and a half to reach the entrance to the underground shelter.

It was a long run, but nothing they hadn't done before. If anything, the sounds of all out war behind them just drove their heels on as they sped through the city, becoming less damaged as they came out of range of the TNT cannons.

"We're pulling into range with the rear of their fleet, Agent Jilna. Their cannons are directed in the completely other direction. We're in the clear to fire now. They've stopped their bombardment after we sunk the rear guard."

Hacié nodded at the report.

"Good. That means its time for us to go, Cave. Come with me. You know how to swim, yes? Of course you do. Put this on.", Hacié said, throwing a black getup similar to hers at him.

"It's waterproof, and at the same time, lightweight. We use this for stealth underwater."

Cave nodded and put the garment on, noticing it was tight in some places, but entirely loose in others.

Hacié scowled. "Look long enough, did you? Anyway, we're going underwater to sink some of their ships using TNT. You'll both plant and set them off, and I'll provide as lookout. You'll have to do, as the rest of the personnel are either injured or manning some position aboard the ship. Take this sword just in case."

They dove into the water, Cave finding swimming easier with the suit than he thought it was. When they reached the ship, skirting past a few squid on their way there, Cave knocked some wood out of the hull to provide a nook for the TNT to be placed. Thankfully, the hull was thicker than expected, so he didn't break a hole in the ship itself prematurely.

After the mechanism was done being built, he turned to see Hacié being strangled by what appeared to be a squid. Knowing that couldn't be true, he looked closer, and saw that it was actually a man disguised as a squid, and he was surrounded by three of them, advancing menacingly at him.

He drew his sword and gutted the one closest to him, driving the sword deep into the leathery hide that hid the person within. Blood clouded the water around him, and immediately. The remaining squidmen dropped what they were doing, such as strangling Cave's associates, and swam for him at full speed.

As he observed them coming at him, he noticed that in reality, the disguises weren't that good. Dangling squid arms, loose at the joints, looked plain silly, and their faces were clearly visible under the unevenly cut hides they attempted to disguise themselves in.

The next man had a curved knife, but the sword once again beat him at range, becoming lodged between his ribs at one point at an angle. Momentum kept him drifting at Cave, so Cave quickly took his knife and kicked the carcass at the assailants approaching comrades.

The two merely clambered around him, and Cave, devoid of momentum, found himself running out of oxygen with the two coming at him. His knife suddenly appeared silly compared to their large harpoon-like spears.

Hacié appeared behind them, breaking one's neck, and kicking the body at the second, this time, successfully interrupting the harpoon's incoming motion. The TNT made a sudden muffled detonation, and the water around him started feeling as if it were sucking him in towards the breach. Due to the squidmen, he wasn't able to get out of the way, and judging by the panicked look on Hacié's face, she couldn't move out of the way. He managed to stab the remaining squidman as he squared up on him during their induction into the ship's center.

When they reached the source of the leak, he saw multiple crewmen attempting to seal the leak from the inside. As soon as they saw him, they dropped their materials and drew their swords.

Hacié gave him a nod and they went to work.

* * *

><p><p>

_**(A/N: Sorry for the long delay. Part forgetting, part procrastination, part life. Let's just call it an underserved hiatus. Apologies for the wait, and for the brevity of this chapter.)**_


	8. Chapter 8

Exploring: Chapter 8

by Titanium Blossom

(_**A/N: I'll be moving this down to T, I think. I can't really write a lemon for this. However, look forward to either a Persona 3 Portable Lemon, or a series of TF2 Lemons in the future.)**_

There was a surprising lack of people on the streets. Either everyone had escaped, or they were hiding in their houses, but Wheat encountered nobody in the last half mile of their scramble to the underground fortress beneath the palace.

The hidden entrance that she knew of was in the courthouse, underneath a lectern. If she could take that entrance, she could bypass the security at the main gate, which may or may not have been overwhelmed by agents.

She and Emilio took a breather in the courthouse, and ate cookies to recover their expended energy. Because there wasn't anybody around, she decided she could press the button to open up the passage.

Pistons activated throughout the foundations of the courthouse, opening up a straight drop into water.

"Come on, Emilio.", Wheat commanded, estimating the distance down. "Let's go."

She jumped first, and he followed, but, to her dismay, the water was surrounded on all sides by men with spears, who appeared as if they weren't especially concerned with the safety of the princess.

She raised her hands as if to surrender, but as soon as one of the spear shafts got close enough to allow her to grab past the blade, she placed both of her hands just past the point, and used the spear like a lever, throwing the original holder into his comrade on the side.

This let her climb out of the water and get into a stance that would allow her to parry any spear thrusts that came her way. However, none came. Instead, the men had Emilio at spear point, and by means of forceful gesturing, made it clear that they would kill him if she resisted.

She let the spear drop to the ground, and they drew her away, binding her wrists with string and pushing her every now and then as they led her through the halls, past dead guards and servants.

They came upon the throne room, completely absent of her mother and father. In fact, the only people that were there two people with black bags over their faces, and the bug-eyed man from their debriefing, in addition to plenty of men with weapons and hoods.

"Ah, yes, the next arrivals to our party. Take the hoods off the other two.", The bug-eyed man commanded.

The hoods were taken off by more of the hooded men, revealing Cave and a purple-eyed girl, whom Wheat assumed was the girl from before, but without the cloak and hood.

Cave had a different look on his face, less emotionless than before. It had only been a short period of time, but Wheat was starting to consider that maybe he really had been changed by the girl, and the mystery lay in what direction the change manifested itself in.

The bug-eyed man smiled in the horrible manner that he tended to do, and announced to no one in general,

"Now that I have the Prince and Princess here, no one can stand in my way! I have the entire royalty under my control now. In fact, I would be surprised if the King and Queen would even do anything remotely close to resisting me now!", He hollered.

"Well, be surprised, Friederich", a male voice announced from above, and an arrow pierced the bug-eyed man's head.

Everyone turned to see who spoke and fired the arrow. It was the King, with bow in hand, from a hole in the roof. Almost immediately, many of the hooded men threw their weapons in front of them and surrendered.

However, a few remained standing, but rushed behind various pieces of cover.

The griefer girl broke free of her strings with a forceful yank and rushed at the closest standing griefer. He went down in one punch. Grabbing a knife, she cut the Cave's bonds, and rushed across the room, clotheslining an opposing enemy, and sliding low into a group's legs, causing them to collapse.

She cut open the strings of both Emilio and Wheat. The King was busy loosing arrows at the remaining traitors.

After freeing Wheat and Emilio, the girl tied up those who had submitted. The guards who had been attending to the King climbed down from the roof and led them away.

The King followed soon after.

"So, Cave. I believe you and the girl were due for some prison time, yes? I believe I can pardon you, as long as you admit it was done in the spirit of competition only."

Cave nodded vigirously.

"And, you, Miss Hacié Jilna, I can forgive wholeheartedly. In fact, I know your father Hiremon, and his mission for you here. It took us long enough to get the silverfish out of the woodwork, but finally, I believe, we've managed to get rid of the majority of the griefer menace."

Seeing Hacié's surprised expression, he continued, "You see, _they_ love to gather where there is power and form. Hiremon and I met early on in the process of developing this settlement. We decided to split so as to crate an opportunity for griefers so that we could wipe them out when they finally decided to arise. This way, we would act like a sponge, and absorb the griefers away from others, and when the time came, eliminate them completely."

Hacié shook her head.

"I don't believe you.", She huffed. "Your damned spies could have told you that. What about the war?"

"Fine, then let me use the secret message, _ I enjoy cookies and milk_. Satisfied?" the King gave a confident smirk. " And as to the war, it was our first attempt to eliminate the griefers. It was an elaborate attempt, involving many immigrants sworn to secrecy etc., but it wasn't complete. The elimination wasn't complete. Thus we remained apart, creating a falsehood about a war that didn't exist, a widespread fallacy that was never to be revealed to those who came after the incident. The Queen and I knew that our bureaucracies were being infiltrated, so we established the Heads and Vice-Heads of our various departments, as buffers to separate the griefers from us. Our court system is by appointment to avoid appointing griefers, and our system of ruling is designed that way as well, to avoid infection on the highest levels of the nation. It is terribly unjust, but we had to eliminate them once and for all. Hiremon was more effective than me in insulating his establishments from the griefers, but even he made the ruling system based upon a group of public servants rather than autocrats."

Hacié nodded and kneeled. "Then, I am at your service, O king.", she announced.

He laughed and shook his head.

"I believe that's out of the question. I'm about to head back, but watch over the Prince and Princess while I'm out." Then, turning to his children. "And by no circumstances are you to follow me, despite my urgent pleadings, alright?", He said, winking and leaving the hole in the roof of the shelter.

It was obvious that he wanted his children to follow him back to battle. It was probably their mother who had said no.

"Well," Cave suggested, looking back at Hacié and the rest, "How about we get to the battle?"

The griefers were sandwiched between the two forces. They were being massacred from behind, and pressured by the front. The combined force of the two nations was too large for them to handle, not being accustomed to open battle.

On the front lines, Hiremon and Miner tore through the ranks of the griefers, great champions in their own right, and from the ocean, the vanquished Griefer fleet no longer could launch TNT from their ships.

By the time the group managed to leave the underground sanctum, the battle was over. They arrived just in time to see Hiremon and Archer embrace each other, as if they were long lost brothers.

Miner stood off to the side, somewhat like a sentinel. When she saw her children, she nearly went berserk, and was literally seconds away from tackling her husband and beating him into submission.

She sufficed to draw him off to the side and whisper to him in honey-acid words, "Archer, honey, didn't I tell you to leave them there...?", She trailed off, tightening her grip on his arm.

Archer gulped, looking guiltily over at Hiremon, who was attempting to hold his mirth. As soon as Hiremon made eye contact, he quickly broke it and shuffled awkwardly out of range to his daughter.

"Well, Hacié, I expect you have been informed up to par on this whole farce? Well, it would be harder to unite the rest of the people, so I believe we'll have to use method B.", Hiremon whispered.

From far away Cave couldn't hear what King Hiremon had said, but the look on Hacié's face and the resulting glance at Cave seemed indicative that Hiremon had been talking about something that involved him. When Hiremon went to talk with the feuding King and Queen, they both looked at him, and then Hacié. It was clear that the topic of discussion involved both him and Hacié.

Hacié ran up to him and linked her arm with his.

Cave was taken back. It was almost as if she had reverted to her demeanor before they had reached her homeland on their first journey. "Hey, Hacié, what's going on? Why are you all... nice... and stuff?"

Hacié giggled girlishly, something that she generally didn't do, and corrected "You mean, back to normal. In my land, you have to treat your subordinates in a very specific manner. Now that we're not in crisis mode anymore, I believe you've earned a reprieve, for now."

Emilio scowled from his position next to Wheat.

"So this was all a game, a trap for the griefers. They all died, I guess, and because the griefers died too, I guess that means we can go back to being happy, huh? Makes me sick.", he cursed.

Wheat only nodded in solidarity, not wanting to interrupt him. However, she felt that there was a definite lack of warmth from her, unlike before the crisis. Something told her that he had changed as a result of all this.

"I guess we all changed.", Wheat mused out loud, not noticing she was drifting close to her parents and Hiremon.

Archer laughed. "Of course we have. But wait until you hear this. Hacié and Cave are getting married tomorrow!", he enthused.

"Wait, what?", she asked, but it was too late, for they had already turned back to talk amongst themselves.

She looked at Hacié and Cave, arm in arm. Emilio huffed.

"We've all changed, but at what cost?", he asked, a tear falling from his eye.


	9. Chapter 9

Exploring: Chapter 9

Titanium Blossom

(_**A/N:Final chapter, guys. Here goes.)**_

The Head Dyer, still alive, laughed as he tailored Cave's tunic.

"Well, there goes the codpiece. Isn't proper for a married man to flaunt his manhood, eh? And to think that not too long ago, I was tailoring garments for your birthday!"

Cave remained silent. He was quite nervous, for one of the first times in recent memory. It was the first time he didn't have an invasion plan. In fact, he wanted to end up married.

The marriage was scheduled for the next day, but for some reason, something nagged at him more than anything else ever had in his entire life. Yes, it was true that most marriages among the nobility took place on a moments notice for pretty much every reason but love, but to him the fact that he had just begun to get to know Hacié made the whole thing feel rushed.

His tunic was black, with white trim, and his pants were the same. At the same time of his marriage, there would be a coronation ceremony marking him as a prince of the Other Land. Before, he was prince of the Other Lands in the sense that he was delegated to a position of privileged servitude to the Crown Princess. Now, he was placed into a situation in which he might actually become the true King of the Other Lands. Of course, Hacie's position as the Queen would trump his, but the chance itself meant that Cave was then tied irreparably with the Other Lands, and being Crown Prince of his original country, that meant that the two lands were tied together politically in the deepest sense.

Of course, Hacié was glad for the opportunity, but in addition to that, she seemed infatuated with him, beyond anything he had ever observed before. Was his assistance in their flight from their first meeting, at the training arena really that endearing. He knew he didn't have much else to offer. Paler than most from his constant underground work and nocturnal habits, he didn't have the attractive complexion of his sister, nor her namesake hair. He was shorter than her, as well, and nowhere near as skilled with the bow.

He essentially had nothing to bring to the table, while in his eyes, Hacié had everything. She had the beauty, albeit otherworldly, of her purple eyes and the confidence and charisma with others to get them to do his bidding,

And if the marriage broke apart, it would result in the dissolution of whatever political bond had existed because of the marriage. Which could end up in permanent separation of the two nations.

A lot of pressure to place upon a marriage between two teens.

He would have laughed at the situation, if he wasn't one of the primary actors in the whole thing. After all, it was his wedding.

He just wondered what Hacié thought about the whole thing.

"I've never worn a dress,", Hacié complained to a lounging Wheat, as the Vice-Dyer worked on altering a wedding gown for Hacié's use. "So forgive me if I can't provide any help as to what style I prefer. In my culture, marriage is much more subdued. The ceremony involves signing a bit of paper that is entered into a book, so I don't really understand all this pomp and circumstance."

Wheat looked passively out the window, her only response a noncommital "Hmm"

Hacié, noticing this response, observed, "The scars of war run deep in warriors, Wheat. It takes more than just a day to get around them. Maybe your time for happiness will come. Maybe it will not. But the most important part is to live without centering on the scars. Things change."

Wheat smiled sadly to herself at Hacié's words. She knew them to be true, and had come to the same conclusion before.

Although her brother's love would come to fruition, her's wouldn't. In fact, it hadn't even blossomed, her relationship with Emilio instead hanging on the tree, the last, browning leaf on a bare tree.

But not everything had a happy ending, she reminded herself, looking over the rebuilding remains of her town, and the embolus of wreckage that lay in their harbor. Things were changed.

Dignitaries from both sides sat mingled in auditorium-like seating in front of a curved stage, which had an altar-like chapel in its center. The King and Queen of Cave's nation were on one side, with the King of the Other Land on the other side.

Upon signal, the bride and groom walked in their paths, towards the middle. When they met, there was a small oath presented by the two kings, which the two accepted. Then a kiss, gentle and brief, before they left through the newly opened door behind them, and as they walked through the door, their parents crossed to exit on the opposite side. There was a lot of applause, and cheers from the people outside of the royal event hall. Fireworks were sent up into the air, and there was much celebration.

Inside of the boat already freshly departing for the developing colony in the center of the ocean, Cave and Hacié sat staring down each other. Cave was the first to stand and move to her, and look into her eyes.

"This ache in my heart when I see you... Is it love?", Cave asked.

Hacié lifted her hand to cup his face.

"Let's find out.", she suggested wryly.

They kissed, and everything became right with their world.


End file.
